Charlie Sheen: Revealing HIV Diagnosis Felt Like "Being Released From Prison"

Charlie Sheen says revealing his HIV-positive status felt like “being released from prison,” and was a great source of relief.

Since revealing his HIV-positive status last November, former Two and a Half Men star Charlie Sheen has been outspoken about his desire to raise awareness for others burdened with the same diagnosis. In a new interview with Today, the same place he made his revelation last year, Sheen opened up about what he regrets most about both his personal and professional life.

"I regret not using a condom the one or two times when this whole thing happened," Sheen told Matt Lauer Tuesday. "I regret ruining Two and a Half Men. I regret not being more involved in my children's lives growing up, which I am now. That's about it. We can only move forward from today. They wouldn't call it the past if it wasn't." As people who actually watched that show might recall, Sheen infamously exited the show after a very public dispute with series creator Chuck Lorre. He was eventually replaced by some guy named Ashton Kutcher.

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According to Sheen, his HIV-positive revelation felt like "being released from prison" and was a source of great relief for him in the face of alleged extortion attempts. "They can claim whatever they want, I know the truth," Sheen said of such claims against him. "They're all sort of going back to the woodwork where they belong."

As for his current HIV-positive treatment plan, Sheen says the medication he's using is "the future" of HIV treatment. "I am undetectable as I sit here today," Sheen told Lauer. The actor, once the highest paid dude on TV, will next be seen alongside Whoopi Goldberg in Nine Eleven, a drama about 5 people who find themselves trapped inside an elevator in the World Trade Center's North Tower on 9/11.

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