Charlie Sheen Says He Used Drugs & Alcohol Heavily After HIV+ Diagnosis
Star tells TODAY he 'was making really bad decisions' after life-changing news.
May 24 2018, Updated 3:34 p.m. ET
Charlie Sheen told the TODAY Show Tuesday that he fell into heavy drug and alcohol abuse after he was diagnosed with the HIV virus, and RadarOnline.com has a look at his four-year tailspin in photos.
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Sheen, who told Matt Lauer, "I'm here, in fact, to admit I'm HIV-positive" at the start of the chat — admit that he fell into depression after the diagnosis, as "it's a hard three letters to absorb."
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The Anger Management actor revealed, "I was so depressed by the condition that I was in, that I was doing a lot of drugs, I was drinking way too much, I was making really bad decisions — that part I own 100 percent."
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Sheen said that he's known about his status for four years, but denied that his 2011 media blitz was fueled by the drugs he was doing as result of depression.
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"I wish I could blame it on that — that was more of a roid rage," the actor said "This was on the heels of that, let me say."
FILE PHOTOS -Charlie Sheen arrives for ‘The Late Show with David Letterman’ at Ed Sullivan Theater
The 50-year-old said that he doesn't feel any stigma anymore about his health status, and vowed, "I have a responsibility now to better myself and to help a lot of other people."
Charlie Sheen arrives for ‘The Late Show with David Letterman’
Sheen said in going public with his personal health information, he hopes he's "kicking the door open" for HIV awareness.
Charlie Sheen attends the Anger Management rap party at Mixology
"Hopefully, what we're doing today, others may come forward and say, 'Thanks Charlie,'" the actor said in regards to his emergence as a person living with HIV.
FILE PHOTOS – It’s being reported that Charlie Sheen is hiding a shocking secret: He has been suffering from the deadly HIV virus for years.
The Anger Management star, in 2012, was smoking crack and using cocaine in heavy amounts at his Los Angeles home, sources told RadarOnline.com exclusively at the time.
Charlie Sheen and Natalie Kenly party on a Rooftop Building in Beverly Hills,CA
Sheen's physician, Dr. Robert Huizenga, said that there has been serious concern that a drug binge for Sheen at this point could have even more disastrous consequences, if he didn't take his HIV medication in regular intervals.
Charlie Sheen and Natalie Kenly party on a Rooftop Building in Beverly Hills,CA
The National ENQUIRER was first to report that Sheen's health status has been an "open secret" for years in Hollywood, and that his "worst fear is that he will be remembered not as a great actor, but as someone who contracted the disease."