NEW YORK — Former "Two and a Half Men" star Charlie Sheen has HIV.
In an interview Tuesday on NBC's "Today," the 50-year-old actor said he tested positive for the virus that causes AIDS about four years ago, but that, thanks to a rigorous drug regimen, he's healthy.
When asked by co-host Matt Lauer if he had transmitted the disease to others, he declared, "Impossible. Impossible," and insisted he had informed every sexual partner of his condition beforehand.
Since his diagnosis, he has had unprotected sex with only two partners, he said, adding, with no further clarification, "They were under the care of my doctor and they were completely warned ahead of time."
He said one reason for going public with his condition was to put a stop to shakedowns from prostitutes and others who threatened to out him. He said one prostitute took a photo of the HIV-related drugs in his medicine cabinet and threatened to sell that photo to the tabloids.
He said he had paid "enough to bring it into the millions" — perhaps as much as $10 million — to buy their silence and now was seeking to "put a stop to this barrage of attacks and sub-truths."
"Are you still paying these people?" Lauer asked him.
"Not after today I'm not," said Sheen, who during his appearance appeared jumpy and spoke in stuttering bursts.
He did not address when, and by whom, he may have been infected.
In the U.S., AIDS is spread mainly through having sex or sharing injection-drug equipment with someone who has HIV. About 1.2 million people in the U.S. are estimated to have HIV, with many of them unaware.
For part of the interview, Sheen was joined by his physician, Dr. Robert Huizenga, who said strong anti-viral drugs have suppressed the virus. The HIV level in Sheen's blood is "undetectable," Huizenga said, and flatly stated that he does not have AIDS.
"He is absolutely healthy," said Huizenga, adding that his own concern was for Sheen's "substance abuse and depression from the disease more than what the HIV virus could do to shorten his life, because it's not going to."
Sheen said in the past that he was "so depressed by the condition I was in that I was doing a lot of drugs, I was drinking way too much." He said he currently is not abusing drugs, though he allowed that he is "still drinking a little bit."
"My partying days are behind me," Sheen said in an "open letter" released by email. "My philanthropic days are ahead of me."
Asked by Lauer if he expected "a barrage of lawsuits" from past sexual partners alleging he infected them, he said wanly, "I'm sure that's next."
But in California, where Sheen resides, a person can be charged with a felony only if they are aware they are HIV-positive and engage in unprotected sex with another person with the specific intent of exposing them to the disease.
Sheen could potentially be sued in civil court by any partners he hasn't already settled with, with the amount of damages they would recoup determined by a judge or jury.
With his public pronouncement, Sheen said he hoped to reduce the stigma and shame still felt by some others diagnosed with HIV, as well as by those who are reluctant to be tested in the first place.
"I have a responsibility now to better myself and to help a lot of other people," he said. "And hopefully with what we're doing today, others may come forward and say, 'Thanks, Charlie, for kicking the door open.'"
The disclosure was the latest chapter in Sheen's headline-seizing history. In recent years, drug and alcohol abuse led to his being kicked off CBS' "Two and a Half Men" in 2011 after an explosive meltdown that included calling the show's producer "a contaminated little maggot."
His escapades also included the revelation that he spent more than $50,000 as a client of "Hollywood Madam" Heidi Fleiss' prostitution ring.
Sheen had become an instant film star in his early 20s with two dramas, "Platoon" (1986) and "Wall Street" (1987), and found success with big-screen comedies as well, including "Major League" (1989) and "Hot Shots!" (1991).
In 2003, "Two and a Half Men" debuted on CBS and starred Sheen as womanizing bachelor Charlie Harper. It made Sheen one of TV's highest-paid actors and at its peak was TV's most-watched sitcom. It ended its run earlier this year, with Ashton Kutcher stepping in for the fired Sheen.
In 2012, Sheen returned to TV in "Anger Management," an FX sitcom adapted from the movie of the same name.
Sheen has been wed three times, the first time to model Donna Peele in the 1990s.
He and actress Denise Richards were married from 2002 to 2006 and have two daughters. Sheen and real estate investor Brooke Mueller wed in 2008 and divorced in 2011; they have two sons.
"Brooke has been inundated with calls from friends and family. To put their minds at ease, Brooke can confirm that she and the boys are not HIV positive," Steve Honig, a spokesperson for Mueller, said in an email.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 have an HIV test at least once as part of routine health care, and that people seek out testing if they have such risk factors as having had sex with someone whose HIV status they didn't know.
Condoms are the best way to prevent sexual transmission.
ACTOR CHARLIE SHEEN'S STATEMENT ON BEING HIV POSITIVE
NEW YORK — Charlie Sheen issued the following statement Tuesday. What follows is the complete, unedited letter:
Roughly four years ago, I suddenly found myself in the throws of a seismic and debilitating three-day cluster-migraine like headache. I was emergently hospitalized with what I believed to be a brain tumour or perhaps some unknown pathology. I was partially correct. Following a battery of endless tests, that included a hideous spinal tap, it was sadly and shockingly revealed to me that I was, in fact, positive for HIV.
The news was a 'mule kick' to my soul. Those impossible words I absorbed and then tried to convince myself, that I was stuck, suspended, or even stranded inside some kind of alternate reality or nightmare, were to the absolute contrary. I was awake. It was true. reality.
Under the brilliant and perfect care of Dr. Robert Huizenga as well as "the" leading infectious disease expert in the known universe, I began a rigorous and intensive treatment program. Not missing a beat, a med dose, or one shred of guidance, quickly my viral loads became undetectable.
Like every other challenge in my life, again, I was victorious and kicking this disease's ass. I wish my story had ended there. Unfortunately, for my family and myself, it had only just begun.
The personal disbelief, karmic confusion, shame and anger lead to a temporary yet abysmal decent into profound substance abuse and fathomless drinking. It was a suicide run. Problem was, I'd forgotten that I'm too tough for such a cowardly departure. Yet, despite this loathsome and horrific odyssey, I was vigilant with my anti-viral program.
My medical team could only shake their heads as each and every blood test returned levels revealing a state of remission. Even though I might have been trying to kill myself, one thing was radically evident; the disease was not.
In and around this perplexing and difficult time, I dazedly chose (or hired) the companionship of unsavoury and insipid types. Regardless of their salt-less reputations, I always lead with condoms and honesty when it came to my condition. Sadly, my truth soon became their treason, as a deluge of blackmail and extortion took centre stage in this circus of deceit.
To date, I have paid out countless millions to these desperate charlatans.
Locked in a vacuum of fear, I chose to allow their threats and skullduggery to vastly deplete future assets from my children, while my "secret" sat entombed in their hives of folly. (or so I thought)
News Flash: This ends today. I'm claiming back my freedom. The scales of justice will swiftly and righteously rebalance themselves.
In conclusion, I accept this condition not as a curse or scourge, but rather as an opportunity and a challenge. An opportunity to help others. A challenge to better myself.
Every day, of every month, of every year, countless individuals go to work, man their stations, fulfil their professional obligations with a host of disabilities. Diseases, imperfections, hurdles, detours. These maladies range from Lupus to Cancer, from paralysis to blindness, from Diabetes to Obesity. "Treated," HIV is no different.
My partying days are behind me. My philanthropic days are ahead of me.
Earnest Hemingway once wrote:
"Courage is grace under pressure."
I've served my time under pressure; I now embrace the courage, and the grace.
Love and Peace,
Charlie Sheen
SOME FACTS ABOUT HIV TRANSMISSION AND TREATMENT IN THE UNITED STATES
Some facts about HIV, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
—About 1.2 million people in the United States, and 35 million people globally, are estimated to be living with HIV.
—In the U.S., the CDC estimates nearly 13 per cent of those people don't know they're infected.
—HIV is spread in the U.S. mainly through having unprotected sex or sharing injection-drug equipment with someone who has the virus.
—The CDC recommends that everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 have an HIV test at least once as part of routine health care, and that people seek out testing if they have such risk factors as having had sex with someone whose HIV status they didn't know.
—Cocktails of powerful medications have turned HIV into a manageable chronic disease for many people who can afford them. Those drugs also reduce the amount of HIV virus circulating in the body, what's called the "viral load," often to undetectable levels. That, in turn, reduces their chance of transmitting HIV to sexual partners, one reason that health officials urge early treatment.
—There is no vaccine. Condoms if used consistently and correctly are highly effective at preventing sexual transmission. Also, a daily pill sometimes is prescribed for healthy people to help prevent them from becoming infected by partners who have the virus, something called "pre-exposure prophylaxis."