Womanizing A-lister is HIV positive — Page 4

Let's keep our eyes open for the levels of demonization as this story unfolds.

Look at the yellow highlighted italicized AND MEN! on that Enquirer cover. We can look for men who have sex with men and transgender women to be the "it goes without saying" vectors of transmission in this narrative.

Let's ask those in our lives who are quick to dump on somebody for a disease if they can imagine that somebody with a voracious sexual appetite can get all the same kicks as a famous person with HIV got but in a way that is not harmful to themselves and others. Because there is still a strong thread of people "getting what they deserve" when they get HIV in this country. Sensible people need to challenge that or be part of the problem.

Funny how people are focusing on the A-List thing. It's like BWW's thing with accents.

And thank God we have that right to focus on whatever the hell we want to and not be mandated/dictated/etc. by you on what should or shouldn't be the focus of discussion.

Are we all going to keep an eye out for who gets trashed in the ensuing media eruptions?

Gay men, definitely.

Drug addicts, definitely.

Partners for choosing to have sex with the guy, probably.

Who else?

I hear this is how the California law reads. See how they have to fold in the myth that "PEOPLE WANT TO INFECT OTHERS"? People who know their status do not want to infect others, research shows. But as long as they're in denial about their situation, anything is possible. It seems particularly American to want to jail people for it, as the war on drugs proves. It's not helpful and actually facilitates deeper denial and the further spread of HIV. So let's see if ANY of the coverage of this event can manage to be stigma-free. My guess is no.

“Any person who exposes another to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) by engaging in unprotected sexual activity when the infected person knows at the time of the unprotected sex that he or she is infected with HIV, has not disclosed his or her HIV-positive status, and acts with the specific intent to infect the other person with HIV, is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for three, five, or eight years.”

Weren't you relieved to hear they were safe? I'm glad they took the time to let the world know!

I'd suspecting someone will continue compare a drug addicted mentally ill person with HIV to a terrorist, and since it could be a story of sex and drugs, I'll expect at least one right winger to use the phrase "worse than ISIS."

Keep an eye out for slippery language like:

But as Us Weekly has learned, and as reported by TMZ, Sheen believes that the virus is now “undetectable” in his blood.

Yes, that's a thing. A real thing. Tiger blood in his veins, no. Undetectable viral load, absolutely.

Yes, exactly. And of course, except in the world of Shonda Rhimes, there is absolutely no room for nuance in this discussion. Maybe we BWWers can try to hold back the flood of misinformation that is sure to be flowing when the dam bursts tomorrow?

That is a very well reasoned and articulated article. Thank you for posting it. Maybe those of us who engaged the '85 era gossip feast can try to do a little better tomorrow by giving some counter narratives to the ones that are going to by flying from every corner?

Whether or not it's "undetectable" is completely irrelevant. If he was diagnosed with HIV and is treating his HIV with medication but failing to inform his sexual partners, he is breaking the law. You can complain about it... deny it... fight it... ignore it... but it's all for nothing because this is the law on the books in California. Try to use actual facts when discussing the legality of this issue and the fact that this man is a felon.

Sheen stated, when asked if he could have infected someone else, that it was impossible. He said that two of his sex partners were told by his doctor ahead of time that he had HIV. I'm wondering who would then go ahead and have sex with him, knowing that. Is having sex with Charlie Sheen important enough to take that risk?

I also wonder if it's undetectable, how was it detected?

Liza's Headband said: "Whether or not it's "undetectable" is completely irrelevant. If he was diagnosed with HIV and is treating his HIV with medication but failing to inform his sexual partners, he is breaking the law. You can complain about it... deny it... fight it... ignore it... but it's all for nothing because this is the law on the books in California. Try to use actual facts when discussing the legality of this issue and the fact that this man is a felon."

But he is not a felon. He clearly stated in his interview with Matt Lauer on the TODAY show that he did in fact tell his sexual partners about his HIV status.

"