As I write this, it is 3:30 on a Monday afternoon and interwebs are abuzz about Charlie Sheen's "Today" show interview that is scheduled for tomorrow. Reportedly, he is to confirm that a recent blind item that made the rounds, about a Hollywood bad boy who is HIV+ and not disclosing his status to his sexual partners, is indeed about him. While I have no trouble believing that a known drug addict and frequent customer of prostitutes and porn stars has HIV, I am curious as to why he would choose to come out about it now. The rumor has been around for at least a year, having come out in last year's Sony email hack scandal, and for whatever reason the blind item only caught fire last week. As I understand it, Sheen lives in California and that state is cracking down on HIV due to a number of outbreaks on porn sets in the last year. It is illegal in California to not disclose your status to your partner, porn star or not, which means he could face possible prosecution. The announcement doesn't seem worth it, unless he's being forced into it for some other reason that carries worse consequences than prosecution. I guess we'll find out in the morning.
The news of all this broke as we were kinda, sorta ending a meeting at work and the convo immediately took a turn. It's no secret that I used to be a manwhore and Jude still is one, and our personal lives became the focus of, "Ya'll get tested, right?" questions. In this day and age, I don't see how people don't get regularly tested, particularly if they're engaging in risky behavior. Maybe they don't want to know, maybe they just assume they're untouchable (as I believe Sheen thought of himself after decades of debauchery), or maybe they're uninformed and think they're not at risk. Even if you're not whoring around, if you're having sex at all, of any kind, you're still at risk, kids. It is 2015, we should all be well aware of this by now. And yet, the misinformation is still all over the place. That's just sad. I don't have any sympathy for Sheen. he made his bed and now he will lie in it. I feel for his children and his family for all the shit he's put them through and now this. And I can't help but wonder how deep all of this will end up going, since he apparently enjoys hooking up with people without telling them he is HIV+ and without protection. Frankly, if you're banging Charlie Sheen at all, you should take a look at your life decisions and make some changes. But thinking of how many people didn't know, slept with him and then went on to sleep with other people, or get married and have children without knowing they'd even been exposed is insane. I can't comprehend how anyone with an STD doesn't disclose that ish well before they have sex with someone. That's beyond reckless behavior, it's literally playing god and taking someone else's life in your hands. True, HIV and AIDS are no longer the immediate death sentences they once were. But that doesn't mean it's now a cake walk to have either illness. The drug cocktail that helps so many live with HIV/AIDS is ridiculously expensive and even with that, a compromised immune system is no fun to live with (take this from someone who has a compromised immune system). You have to be vigilant and take precautions in many areas of your life. For the rest of your life.
If all the allegations of Sheen's behavior post-diagnosis are true, then karma will hand him whatever he deserves in the coming years. It's already handed him his HIV+ diagnosis. But I will lose my ish if any news outlet tries to turn his story into some big, inspirational tale of living with HIV. This isn't some innocent kid who was born with the disease through no fault of their own, or someone who needed a life-saving blood transfusion that ended up being tainted. This is a grown ass man who fucked his way through life and used his status as a celebrity to to indulge in sketchy shit for decades now. No one deserves to contract an STD, but when you play with fire, you better be expecting to get burned at some point. I'd be shocked if this was the first or only STD he's ever had. Sex with prostitutes and sharing needles will do that to you. If anything, I would hope this draws attention to the fact that HIV isn't just a "gay disease" (yes, I know he also slept with men, and the media will focus on that, but it's very possible he contracted it from or gave it to women). No matter your color, no matter your gender and no matter your sexual preference, if you're having sex, you ARE at risk for contracting HIV, as well as any other STD. Get tested, ya'll.
