Charlie Sheen in a still from The Today Show. (Image courtesy: Twitter)
The 'personal announcement' that actor Charlie Sheen was to make on national television was exactly what it was rumoured to be. Mr Sheen, 50, told Matt Lauer on The Today Show that he is HIV positive. He also said he has known for the last four years and told those people he trusts.
"It's a harmful three letters to absorb," he added. The network tweeted a snippet form the interview:
The Hot Shots! star also revealed that he didn't know when and how he caught the virus and that he's paid a lot of hush money since finding out. "It was a shakedown," he said. When asked if he could have passed on the virus to others, he said, "Impossible."
The actor's ex-girlfriend, adult film actress Bree Olson, tweeted on Monday that she was being tested for HIV.
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, reportedly made his HIV status public because several former partners were threatening him with lawsuits.
TMZ claimed that friends who were told about Mr Sheen's condition 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.
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, is one of those who knew Charlie Sheen was HIV positive. (Also Read:
Charlie Sheen for President, Anyone? He Wants to Run for White House).
Quoting a source close to Ms Richards, it said that Mr Sheen contracted the virus after the couple divorced in 2006.