Actor Charlie Sheen is set to make a “revealing” personal announcement during a live interview with NBC, the network announced, as celebrity websites reported the US star was HIV-positive.
NBC gave no further details on what the actor, who has long battled drug and alcohol problems, would disclose in the interview to be aired Tuesday morning on the network's Today show on Tuesday morning (Wednesday evening Hong Kong time).
But several entertainment news outlets said the actor would say that he is HIV-positive.
The celebrity website TMZ said Sheen, who was fired in 2011 from the top-rated Two and a Half Men set after a much-publicised spat with Warner Bros over his behaviour, was making his HIV status public because several former partners were threatening him with lawsuits.
TMZ claimed the 50-year-old actor had known about his status for more than a year and had kept it confidential, sharing it only with several friends - who spread the information.
“That led to several of Charlie's former partners contacting him and threatening a lawsuit because they were unaware of his status when they had interaction with him,” TMZ said. “Our sources say Charlie settled several of the cases and, in return for money, got confidentiality agreements.”