Watch Charlie Sheen talk about having HIV, ‘a hard three letters to absorb’

Actor Charlie Sheen is publicly acknowledging that he has been HIV-positive for four years.

Sheen told Matt Lauer during a live interview Tuesday on NBC’s “Today� show that he is revealing his condition in order to end extortion threats that have cost him millions of dollars.

The “Two and a Half Men� star said he was given the HIV diagnosis four years ago when he entered the hospital concerned about migraines and night sweats. “I thought I had a brain tumor,� he said.

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Nervous and stuttering throughout the interview, held live in the “Today� studio, Sheen said, “It’s a hard three letters to absorb. It’s a turning point of one’s life.�

Sheen confided his condition to several people in his inner circle, some of whom demanded payment to remain silent.

“We’re talking about shakedowns,� he said.

He confirmed a story of a prostitute who took a cellphone picture of his anti-retroviral medications and threatened to sell it to the tabloids.

Sheen said he is no longer going to pay the extortion demands.

“I release myself from this prison today,� he said.

Sheen said it was “impossible� for him to have transmitted the virus to a partner even though he has had unprotected sex.

Sheen’s physician, Dr. Robert Huizenga, appeared on “Today� and said the drugs have suppressed the virus. He said Sheen has an “undetectable level� of the virus in his blood.

“He does not have AIDS,� Huizenga declared.

The doctor said he is more concerned about depression and substance abuse related to Sheen’s response to learning he has HIV.

Sheen said he was not “entirely sure� how he had contracted the virus.

Sheen, 50, is a Hollywood star whose resume includes such hits as “Wall Street� and “Platoon.� But his best-known role is as the lothario on the long-running situation comedy “Two and a Half Men,� which for years made him the highest paid star on television.

Sheen left the series in 2011 after a dispute with the show’s creator, Chuck Lorre, and for a short time became a media folk hero who celebrated a debauched lifestyle. He told Lauer he did not connect his public meltdown to learning of his diagnosis.

Sheen’s last TV series, “Anger Management,� was canceled in 2014. He said he plans to work again and has made his HIV-positive condition known to the studios and producers whom he has discussed working with.

“I have a couple of films lined up that I can put start dates on,� he said. “Thus far there has been no resistance.�

Both of Sheen’s ex-wives, Denise Richards and Brooke Mueller, have also been aware of his diagnosis for some time, the actor said.

Twitter: @SteveBattaglio

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