1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

General News Actor Charlie Sheen reveals he's HIV positive

Discussion in 'Current Events, World News, & LGBT News' started by Tightrope, Nov 17, 2015.

  1. Tightrope

    Full Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2013
    Messages:
    5,415
    Likes Received:
    387
    Location:
    USA
    Gender:
    Male
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    Some people
    Not much surprises or shocks me anymore. I can't say I'm surprised by Charlie Sheen's announcement when I read more about it, but I wasn't expecting to look at the news and see this either. He has had a lot of issues along the way, with drugs, aggression, failed relationships, and five kids from different mothers. What I've now learned is that when tabloids harp and harp on certain things, they are sometimes true. I don't buy them but you certainly will see them when waiting to go through the check out line at the grocery store. Here's the link:

    Charlie Sheen Reveals He's HIV Positive

    In looking at it more, I had noticed that he hadn't been looking that good lately, not that he was ever all that to begin with. It could be that his fast lane living, the effects of the virus, and dealing with the news may have worn him down a bit.

    What do you think? Were you surprised by this recent news in the world of entertainment?
     
  2. Anthemic

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Dec 17, 2012
    Messages:
    1,890
    Likes Received:
    7
    Location:
    Alabama
    Gender:
    Female
    Gender Pronoun:
    She
    Sexual Orientation:
    Lesbian
    Out Status:
    Some people
    I wasn't surprised. I always figured his lifestyle would catch up to him.
     
  3. hapa

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Nov 14, 2015
    Messages:
    87
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Devon.
    Gender:
    Male
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    Who would have thought that reckless, unprotected sex would increase your chances of getting HIV?
     
  4. Im Hazel

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2015
    Messages:
    528
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Rural England
    Poor guy. :frowning2:
     
  5. WhereWeWere

    WhereWeWere Guest

    Joined:
    Oct 23, 2015
    Messages:
    144
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    America
    Gender:
    Male (trans*)
    Charlie Sheen?

    Honestly I thought the guy died. I just kinda assumed that. I'm not saying this to be funny, I legitimately thought he was dead.
     
  6. Tightrope

    Full Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2013
    Messages:
    5,415
    Likes Received:
    387
    Location:
    USA
    Gender:
    Male
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    Some people
    I think the character on the program he was in was eliminated. I didn't follow it, but that's what the article indicates.
     
  7. Plattyrex

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Oct 7, 2015
    Messages:
    707
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Flint
    Gender:
    Male
    This is really sad. I never really cared much for the guy, but nobody deserves this.
     
  8. Daydreamer1

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2011
    Messages:
    5,680
    Likes Received:
    21
    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    Gender:
    Male (trans*)
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Other
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    Poor guy. Just heard the news yesterday.
     
  9. Anthemic

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Dec 17, 2012
    Messages:
    1,890
    Likes Received:
    7
    Location:
    Alabama
    Gender:
    Female
    Gender Pronoun:
    She
    Sexual Orientation:
    Lesbian
    Out Status:
    Some people
    Yeah, even though I not surprised, it still makes me feel bad for him. It's even more sad because he was blackmailed numerous times because of it.
     
  10. GeeLee

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2013
    Messages:
    1,442
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Somewhere
    Gender:
    Male
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    Out Status:
    Not out at all
    I've found the speculation and moralizing from the tabloids about this to be quite distasteful myself. Whether it's been the near witch hunt at the start of this to the moralizing about the way he has conducted himself in recent years (something tabloids lapped up) and the bollocks written about HIV/AIDS, it's just been the mother of all shit shows.

    It's a private medical matter regardless of if that person is in the public eye like Sheen is and instead the tabloids have looked at it and gone "oh, this will sell copies/generate hits for us and our right to that trumps his right to deal with this in his own way."

    This bit sums the whole thing up -

    The Cruel HIV Stalking of Charlie Sheen Takes Us Back To The Ignorant 1980s - The Daily Beast

    An 18 month investigation into whether or not a celebrity has a serious illness. Just think about that. It's not exactly Watergate is it?
     
  11. Canterpiece

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2015
    Messages:
    1,760
    Likes Received:
    106
    Location:
    England
    Gender:
    Female
    Gender Pronoun:
    She
    Sexual Orientation:
    Lesbian
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    Speaking of which, I'm glad to see this under the "general news" section for once, I've seen this kind of thing being lumped into LGBT sections on websites too many times. :eusa_doh: It isn't some sort of "gay disease" that some people try to make it out to be. In the end, serious diseases like HIV don't discriminate and it concerns me the level of sex-ed these days. Yes I know, I'm sixteen so I can't really talk because I don't exactly have much life experience or knowledge and I'm not going to go around pretending that I do, but that's just my two-cents.

    But um yeah, sorry if I took this thread a little off track. :icon_redf
     
    #11 Canterpiece, Nov 17, 2015
    Last edited: Nov 17, 2015
  12. Tightrope

    Full Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2013
    Messages:
    5,415
    Likes Received:
    387
    Location:
    USA
    Gender:
    Male
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    Some people
    Which is exactly why I put it under "general news."

    And, yes, diseases don't discriminate and, even when the disease was newer and less was known about it, unsuspecting women were being infected by boyfriends and husbands who were engaging in sex with other guys (at the beginning, they wouldn't have known about the risks, but that still didn't make that right) and people were getting infected in health care jobs, although rare, because they hadn't come up with the screenings and safety protocols of today. The message has always been very clear that the disease doesn't discriminate but many people still choose to bury their heads in the sand. This can either be people who think "it can't happen to me" or people who are monogamous or sexually inactive who are being judgmental of others.
     
  13. Julietta

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Oct 16, 2015
    Messages:
    87
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    London
    Gender:
    Female
    Sexual Orientation:
    Lesbian
    Out Status:
    A few people
    Let's not forget he has been recklessly injecting drugs too so he's kind of covered all bases with his risk categories :/
     
  14. candyjiru

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2015
    Messages:
    704
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Asia
    Gender:
    Female
    What a sad story... Even though he led a wildly unhealthy lifestyle, this isn't something I would ever wish on anyone...

    Also, the paparazzi is disgusting... "outing" someone for having a life-threatening disease is not reporting... it's being a bully... sigh.

    Actually, when I was in college, I got a free AIDS test and came up positive... I spent three days waiting on the results of a blood test, but was told that the swabs were almost never wrong... I got the talk about how my life would change but it wasn't an instant death sentence, that there was medicine I could take for it, but that it was way out of my income bracket, how I could still work and do everything else and no one could discriminate against me because of it, but that I would need to inform certain people, including my ex who had moved away and with whom I had no contact... I spent a day in my room trying to process everything... how I would tell my family and where I would go from there... but then, thank God, my blood test came back negative and I found out that swab tests have a pretty large margin of error. Even writing about it now, several years later, I feel shaken up... so I can't imagine how hard it was for him to deal with the paparazzi on him while he was going through it and then to come out publicly about it. ;.;
     
    #14 candyjiru, Nov 17, 2015
    Last edited: Nov 17, 2015
  15. Tightrope

    Full Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2013
    Messages:
    5,415
    Likes Received:
    387
    Location:
    USA
    Gender:
    Male
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    Some people
    Thank you for your post, candyjiru. The testing process is really stressful. I know of 3 testing options - the oral swab, the finger prick test, and the blood draw. They may have come up with others or are coming up with others. The first two area easily performed and ought to be pretty good, but may not be fully accurate. The blood draw is the most accurate. The thing to note is that a person has to wait enough time (this is another issue) after the last possible exposure prior to testing.

    In Sheen's case, it was the night sweats and feeling very badly that caused him to seek medical attention. Night sweats can also indicate other things. The problem is when people have any of the symptoms associated with HIV and either no exposure or a remote likelihood of infection who then become panic stricken until there is enough time to wait for the test and the results. I think a lot of people need to have a medical professional or trained counselor around when taking the test and getting the results, regardless of the outcome of the test.
     
  16. GayBoyBG

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Dec 6, 2014
    Messages:
    140
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Plovdiv, Bulgaria
    Gender:
    Male
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    Out Status:
    Some people
    Uncle Charlie is a true winner with tiger blood, adonis DNA and all that! Being HIV positive is no longer a death threat. I'm sure he'll be getting the best medical care available.
    I hope he gives out to the IRS the names of the people who blackmailed him. Would be nice to see how these people will explain the cash income, when it's known it came from blackmailing :0
     
  17. Dollop

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Sep 16, 2015
    Messages:
    206
    Likes Received:
    13
    Location:
    UK
    Gender:
    Male
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    Not out at all
    saw this today was not real shock he was sleeping with pornstars wasnt he? No one deserves this but he can only blame himself.
     
  18. Origamidragons

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2015
    Messages:
    108
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    Gender:
    Female
    Out Status:
    Not out at all
    I'm not surprised, but I feel bad for him and it sickens me that anyone's serious illness should be front page news like that. :frowning2:
     
  19. photoguy93

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2012
    Messages:
    1,893
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    St. Olaf
    I do feel bad for him, but I also feel bad for the missed opportunity for supporting the HIV cause. I am sure many people will look at him and go "well, sucks to do drugs/have sex with 23849573 people, am I right?" There's not a lot of positivity here. :|
     
  20. Skaros

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Dec 9, 2013
    Messages:
    1,254
    Likes Received:
    2
    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    Gender:
    Male
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    Out Status:
    All but family
    I would honestly be more surprised if he didn't have HIV. Well, I hope everything works out well for him, I guess.
     
    #20 Skaros, Nov 19, 2015
    Last edited: Nov 19, 2015