Charlie
Sheen revealed that he’s living with HIV on Tuesday.
“I’m here to admit that I am in fact HIV-positive
and I have to put a stop to this onslaught, this barrage of attacks and of sub-truths
and very harmful … stories that I am threatening the health of others, which
couldn’t be farther from the truth,” the 50-year-old actor told Matt Lauer
on NBC’s “Today” show.
The actor said he was diagnosed with the disease 4 years
ago after suffering “crushing
headaches and insane migraines and sweating the bed, completely drenched two to
three nights in a row.”
“I thought I had a brain tumor. I thought it was
over,” he told Matt.
The actor claimed he’s come forward after being
“shaken down” by people he believed he could trust and also claimed
he’s been extorted for sums totaling “into the millions.”
READ: Source: Denise Richards Knew Charlie Sheen Was HIV Positive For Years (Exclusive)
This alleged extortion also includes an unnamed
prostitute who allegedly snapped a photo of
his antiretroviral medication and said she would sell it to the
tabloids.
“I was so depressed by the condition I was in, I
was doing too many drugs, I was drinking too much,” he told Matt when
asked why he continued to pay for sex after his diagnosis.
“Are
you still paying these people?” Lauer asked him Sheen.
“Not
after today I’m not,” Sheen said. “I have a responsibility now to
better myself and to help a lot of other people and hopefully with what we’re
doing today, others may come forward and say, ‘Thanks, Charlie, for kicking the
door open.'”
PHOTOS: Denise Richards & Charlie Sheen: A Look Back
The
“Anger Management” star said he’s told all of his past sexual
partners about his HIV status and said he’s only had unprotected sex with two women since and claimed they were both
“warned ahead of time.”
The
actor was married to Donna Peele from 1995 to 1996, Denise Richards from 2002
to 2006 and Brooke Mueller from 2008 to 2011.
On
Monday, a source close to the
situation told Access that the actress nor the couple’s two daughters – Sam,
11; and Lola, 10 – have been infected with HIV.
Following Sheen’s interview on Tuesday, Mueller released a statement.
“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,” her statement read.
— Jesse Spero
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