A file photo of Charlie Sheen. (Image courtesy: Agence France-Presse)
Charlie Sheen is set to make a revealing personal announcement during a live interview with NBC, the network announced on November 16, reported
TMZ.
NBC gave no further details on what the actor, who has long battled drug and alcohol problems, will disclose in the interview, which airs Tuesday morning on the network's
Today show.But several entertainment news outlets said that the actor will say that he is HIV-positive.
Mr Sheen, who was fired in 2011 from the top-rated TV series
Two and a Half Men after a much-publicized spat with Warner Brothers over his behaviour, is reportedly making his HIV status public because several former partners were threatening him with lawsuits.
TMZ claimed that the 50-year-old actor had known about his status for more than a year and had kept it confidential, sharing it only with several friends - who spread the information.
"That led to several of Charlie's former partners contacting him and threatening a lawsuit because they were unaware of his status when they had interaction with him. Our sources say that Charlie settled several of the cases and in return for money, got confidentiality agreements," TMZ said.
Mr Sheen, the son of movie star Martin Sheen, rose to fame after starring in a number of hit films including
Platoon and
Ferris Bueller's Day Off, both released in 1986.
He also gained popularity for his television roles in
Spin City, Two and a Half Men and his latest project
Anger Management(Also Read:
Charlie Sheen for President, Anyone? He Wants to Run for White House).
Between May 2010 and 2011, he was the highest paid actor on television earning $40 million, according to Forbes.
Access Hollywood said on its website that Mr Sheen's former wife Denise Richards, with whom he has two daughters, had long known that he was HIV positive.
Quoting a source close to Ms Richards, it said that Mr Sheen contracted the virus after the couple divorced in 2006.