The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
He’s been subjected to
Bueller’s Day Off and Wall Street. Two And A Half Men was once the most popular show on American television but he was fired from his role as a thrillseeking bachelor in 2011 after a series of angry and rambling interviews and public appearances in which he declared he possessed “tiger blood” and “Adonis DNA” and described his own behaviour as “winning”.
He told Lauer that he wished he could blame that episode on his illness but admitted it didcomeonthe back of being diagnosed.
Sheen, who is the son of West Wing actor Martin Sheen, has long struggled with substance abuse and spent time in rehab.
He has also admitted to soliciting prostitutes and testified in the tax evasion trial of Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss in 1995.
Sheen told Lauer he associated with people who went on to blackmail him because he was so devastated by his illness.
“I was so depressed by the condition Iwasin, Iwas doing a lot of drugs, I was drinkingway toomuchand making really bad decisions.”
He confirmed one prostitute photographed his retro-viral medications in his bathroom and threatened to sell the picture to the tabloids.
Sheen told Lauer he is no longer taking drugs but still drinks “a bit”.
Asked if he had knowingly or unknowingly transmitted HIV to any of his sexual partners, Sheen said: “Impossible.”
He admitted he had had unprotected sex since he was diagnosed, saying: “Yes, but the two people I have done that with were under the care of doctors and completely warned ahead of time.”
Sheen said he was now expecting lawsuits from sexual partners as a result of his revelation.
“I would be predicting the future and assuming the worst. I can only imagine, based on what I’ve already experienced and been forced to deal with, I’m sure that is next.”
Asked by Lauer if he expected to face criminal charges because in 35 US states it is illegal to not disclose an HIV diagnosis to a sexual partner, Sheen said: “Having divulged it is the reason I’m in the mess I’m in, having all the shakedowns.
“I can’t sit here and protect against all of that. I can only sit here with you and tell my truth.”
He was first diagnosed after suffering from headaches and migraines and sweating in bed.
He said: “I had to be hospitalised, I thought I had a brain tumour, I thought it was over.” He added: “It’s a hard three letters to ab-
“I had to be hospitalised. I thought I had a brain tumour”