It is likely that tomorrow, Charlie Sheen will go on The Today Show and announce he is HIV positive; that is, according to speculation that is making the rounds on the web, spurred by a National Enquirer report accusing Sheen of contracting the virus before spreading it to dozens of women.
The actual quality of the Enquirer’s reporting has yet to be determined, until the story is published on Wednesday, Nov. 18. Nevertheless, it seems to have caught Sheen’s attention.
NBC News announced the former star of Two and a Half Men will make a “revealing personal announcement,” but according to Gawker, it seems his Tuesday appearance on the show is timed to beat the National Enquirer report, which will be published the following day.
In October, the tabloid posted a story about a “bad boy Tinseltown star” who has been hiding the fact that he’s HIV positive. Now, they’ve revealed Sheen to be the man in question.
According to the Enquirer’s sources, the actor recklessly put others at risk, failing to inform his multiple sex partners of his potentially deadly HIV infection. “Charlie thought he was indestructible and took no precautions—even though he was indulging in high-risk sex practices,” according to one source.
While his drug and alcohol abuse has been publicly known for years, Sheen has allegedly spent $5 million to keep his HIV status quiet, paying off “tons of girls” who “get a regular check from Charlie” as a kind of apology for exposing them to the virus, according to the Enquirer. However, the actor’s HIV diagnosis is apparently an open secret to many in Hollywood.