After more than four years of living with HIV, actor Charlie Sheen has publically acknowledged his diagnosis during an interview with NBC's "Today Show."
"I'm here to admit that I am in fact HIV-positive," Sheen told Matt Lauer according to CNN.
"And 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 the [alleged] threatening the health of so many others, which couldn't be farther from the truth."
Reportedly, part of the reason Sheen has come out with his HIV condition is due to several sexual partners who have been extorting money after learning about his condition, "enough to bring it into the millions."
"We're talking about shakedowns," continued Sheen. "Not after today I'm not. That's my goal. That's not my only goal, but I think I released myself from this prison today."
During the interview, Charlie was joined by his doctor Robert Huizenga, assistant professor of clinical medicine at UCLA, who confirmed he did not have AIDS.
"Charlie does not have AIDS," Huizenga said. "AIDS is a condition where the HIV virus markedly suppresses the immune system and you are susceptible to rare, difficult cancers and infections. Charlie has none of those. He is healthy; he does not have AIDS."
Now, Charlie Sheen is said to be healthy and the HIV fully suppressed.
"It's no longer a death sentence," said Dr. Stephen Boswell, president and CEO of Boston's Fenway Health.
"It's a very different time now. Most people just diagnosed with HIV will live an almost normal life span if they get an early diagnosis, appropriate care and stay on their medications."
Check out the "Today Show" interview below:
"I'm here to admit that I am in fact HIV Positive." -@CharlieSheen https://t.co/OVqVMKUGET https://t.co/10Ca6WRqt4
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 17, 2015
