Charlie Sheen, HIV, a Tabloid and My Insane 2-Year Hunt for a Story
A lengthy but very interesting article. If you have the time, definitely read the whole thing. All I have to say is: “Wow.”
Some interesting points:
What we uncovered was shocking not only in terms of illuminating the depths of Sheen’s depravity but in the scale of the conspiracy to hide the truth. What had started as casual PR manipulation had escalated into what was beginning to look like a monumental cover-up.
A close friend — famous in his own right and a pal of the star’s for two decades — shared a letter with me he’d written to Sheen in which he begged him to go public, claiming that Magic Johnson (who announced his own HIV status in 1991) would sit with him in the press conference. “I know with 100% certainty,” he wrote to Charlie, “that as long as you are in control of how the message is delivered, there is no way possible this could do anything but help you from a business standpoint.”
This friend also confirmed that Charlie was paying out a fortune in a desperate attempt to keep the news quiet. “I know that people are extorting him and have extorted him for hundreds and hundreds and thousands of dollars threatening to go public.”
Even more ominous than paying for silence were details of the nondisclosure agreements that emerged from Sober Valley Lodge. Charlie had legal papers drawn up that all visitors and sexual partners had to sign. It meant that they had to keep all communication (both written and verbal), personal information and details of their interaction with Sheen private or face legal ramifications. Disclosing any of this “confidential information” to friends, family, social networks, media organizations or publishers would incur a penalty of $100,000 — in addition to any money gained from breaking the agreement.
He was bullying them into silence. And worse, the NDA compelled any legal challenge to be heard not in a court of law but by a mediator — and confidentially. “We understand, acknowledge and agree that there is no right to an appeal or a review of an arbitrator’s award as there would be of a judge or jury’s decision,” it concludes.
In April, the gossip blog Diary of a Hollywood Street King uploaded a series of posts alleging that Charlie was HIV positive and that he was paying out millions to former porn star and prostitute lovers to keep silent. The posts quickly disappeared. We obtained emails and documents from lawyers representing Sheen thanking the blog owners for their “prompt work deleting and/or redacting the offending content” — and outlining a payment schedule of $100,000 for doing so.
The same source who had showed us his letter begging Charlie to go public shared texts received from Sheen once the star had gotten wind of his intentions. A 20-year friendship is wiped out in a frenzy of insults and threats.
We were ready to publish the big one. And this time, we weren’t going to back down.
Over two and a half years, we had assembled thousands of legal documents, sworn statements, text messages, photographs. We were watertight.
To get the ball rolling, we pulled an old tabloid trick — running a “blind item” in October 2015 about “a bad boy Tinseltown star” whose “explosive secret” is that he’s HIV positive. It worked. More individuals came forward … and I took a phone call from a member of Charlie’s team asking if we intended to publish his name. My response: Why, if he was not the man in question, were they even calling to ask?
BTW, there’s a lot of talk that Charlie is likely a narcissist. Either way, he’s clearly dangerous to himself and others (so much violence abuse) and needs some kind of psychiatric help.
So wow. Just wow.
Wow.
“The story of my chase with Charlie is a glimpse into the dark heart of
the American showbiz dream.It’s about how the system not only
facilitates the horror but perpetuates it.”
Charlie Sheen, HIV, a Tabloid and My Insane 2-Year Hunt for a Story