Actor Charlie Sheen confirmed on Tuesday morning that he is HIV positive and has known about his diagnosis for about four years.
“I am here to admit that I am in fact HIV positive,” he told Matt Lauer on the Today show.
“It’s a hard three letters to absorb,” he said. “It’s a turning point in one’s life.”
The troubled television actor also revealed he has been the victim of several extortion plots and has paid people millions to keep them from going public with his diagnosis. Sheen told Lauer that the sexual partners he had unprotected sex with after he was diagnosed were being cared for by his doctor.
Sheen’s revelation comes one day after a National Enquirer cover story speculated on his diagnosis. Rumors about the 50-year-old actor’s health started swirling after several blind item reports were published, including a RadarOnline story that appeared two weeks prior. Many of the stories were believed to be pointing to Sheen.
“I have to put a stop to this onslaught, this barrage of attacks and of sub-truths and very harmful and mercurial stories that are about me, that threaten the health of so many others that couldn’t be further from the truth,” he said on Tuesday, alluding to the mounting tabloid reports.