Martin Sheen Speaks Out About Charlie's HIV Disclosure: 'It Was the Most Difficult Thing He's Ever Done'
Martin Sheen and Charlie Sheen in 2011. (Getty Images)
Martin Sheen is proud of his son.
After going public with the news that he is HIV positive, Charlie Sheen has received supportive words from his famous father. The West Wing alum, 75, spoke out during a conference in Naples, Florida, admitting that Charlie’s disclosure on the Today show on Tuesday was “the most difficult thing he’s ever done.”
“He had been leading up to this sort of story for several months, and we kept encouraging him to do it,” Martin, who has a history of HIV/AIDS activism, said Tuesday night at the eighth annual CME Group’s Global Financial Leadership Conference, according to the Naples Daily News. “And he kept backing away and backing away because it was like going to his own execution, I guess."
Charlie, who found out he was HIV positive four years ago, wasn’t sure he could go through with it.
"It was the most difficult thing he’d ever done. And he kind of sealed it when he called Matt Lauer last week and asked if he could go on,” Martin said. “We didn’t know until he walked on the set this morning that he was going to do it. I saw him Saturday night, my wife and I went to see him, to make sure he knew we were behind him, and if he wanted me to go, I would have canceled this event. He said, no, this was his and his alone.”
Becoming choked up, Martin — who himself battled addiction — asked the 300 or so attendees in the room if they have loved ones who are addicts.
“When someone comes to themself, they have the moment of clarity, and they reveal their secrets — which all of us have — in public, it is a great sense of relief. It is a miraculous occasion,” Martin said. “This morning, as I watched him alone, reveal his deepest, darkest secret, I couldn’t believe the level of courage I was witnessing, and that it was my son.”
Martin said he left Charlie a voicemail after watching his interview.
“I left him a message, and I said that if I had that much courage, I would change the world,” he said. “This afternoon, I was still unable to reach him, and I left another message, that my favorite quote from Robert Kennedy was fulfilled with him today. Robert Kennedy once said, ‘One heart with courage is a majority.’”
Martin ended by saying, “I hope that this day is the first day of the rest of Charlie’s life as a free man.”
Charlie’s father isn’t the only one offering public support. Magic Johnson and Who’s the Boss alum Danny Pintauro, who both are HIV positive, offered encouraging words as well.
While there is a lot of positivity around Sheen following his big announcement, it’s not all that way. Some of his exes have spoken out saying that he never disclosed to them that he had the virus and he put their health in jeopardy.
