Actor Charlie Sheen is encouraging HIV-positive celebrities to speak out publicly about the illness as a means to diminish the social stigma attached to the deadly disease.
“There is a lot of prejudice against HIV-positive people and I hope to change that,” Sheen said, according to AFP, in an interview published Tuesday with German Playboy.
“It would be good if more celebrities announced that they are infected with HIV. That would help things.”
The former Two And A Half Men star made headlines around the world last November when he revealed that he is HIV positive.
Being an HIV/AIDS activists is something he never asked to be, Sheen told Playboy, but he’s committed to leveraging his celebrity status to spread the word about safe sex.
“People approach me on the street and congratulate me on having the courage,” he said. “Whether I want to or not, it is important to teach about sexually transmitted diseases.”
Besides fortifying his acting career in the late 80s and early 90s, the 50-year-old actor was known for partying, drinking, and a string of arrests for domestic violence and drug abuse. But now the father of five says he’s devoted to a health and lifestyle.
“I want to stay healthy and do good. I want to make peace with the past, live in the present and look toward the future,” Sheen said.
Sheen also chimed in on the presidential race, calling Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump a “clown.”
“He’s a damn clown,” Sheen said of Trump. “This circus had better get out of town before it hits the Oval Office. You’d be better off voting for me.”
In April, the Los Angeles Police Department launched a felony investigation into alleged death threats Sheen purportedly made against his former fiancée, porn star Brett Rossi.
Most recently, Sheen was back in front of the camera promoting safe sex in an advertisement video for a new line of condoms from intimate lifestyle products company LELO.
Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter: @JeromeEHudson
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