Charlie Sheen, the well-known actor, has disclosed in a new book and a two-part Netflix documentary that he has had intimate encounters with men.
At 60 years old, Sheen shared his experiences of a time in his life when he was frequently with women and decided to explore different experiences. He described this period as having ‘flipped the menu over’.
Sheen asserts in both the documentary and the book that he will not ‘run from [his] past’ nor let it ‘own [him]’, reflecting on his journey.
The forthcoming book and Netflix documentary promise to delve into various aspects of Sheen’s life, particularly his personal relationships and his battles with addiction.
In the documentary, Sheen is confronted with questions about his previous relationships with men, as well as his feelings about discussing this aspect of his life openly after so many years.
He summed up the experience in one word.
“Liberating. It’s f***ing liberating … [to] just talk about stuff,” he expressed.
“It’s like a train didn’t come through the side of the restaurant. A f***ing piano didn’t fall out of the sky. No one ran into the room and shot me.”
Sheen also opened up about using crack cocaine during the time he began having sexual experiences with men.
In an interview on Good Morning America, Sheen explained: “That’s what started it. That’s where it was born, or sparked.
“And in whatever chunks of time that I was off the pipe, trying to navigate that, trying to come to terms with it — ‘Where did that come from? … Why did that happen?’ — and then just finally being like, ‘So what?’ “So what? Some of it was weird.
“A lot of it was f***ing fun. And life goes on.”
During this period, Sheen also contracted HIV, a condition he kept hidden for many years.
Despite trying to keep his diagnosis private, Sheen recounted instances where overnight guests would attempt to extort money from him after discovering his medication, threatening to expose his condition if he refused to pay.
Initially, Sheen complied with these demands, but in 2015, he chose to disclose his HIV-positive status on the Today Show, stating at the time: “I just need to be free of that and then see how the world feels if people know that stuff.”
He further mentioned: “I do know for a fact that I never passed it on.”
With advancements in HIV medication, if managed properly, patients can reduce the virus to undetectable levels, making it non-transmissible.
The documentary, titled aka Charlie Sheen, is scheduled to become available on Netflix on September 10.