People: Charlie Sheen might reveal he is HIV-positive
The verifiable Charlie Sheen news on Monday: He’s going live on the “Today” show Tuesday to make what NBC describes as a “revealing personal announcement.”
What’s making that news highly noteworthy? Numerous allegations, unconfirmed by the Los Angeles Times, that the notorious playboy is HIV-positive and has known it for a while now – while many of his sex partners might not have.
Inklings of the story bubbled up late last week, when the Sun in Britain reported that a “superstar womaniser” in Hollywood was HIV-positive. The tabloid’s source said the “straight man” – whom it did not identify – was concerned about possible lawsuits from women he’d slept with as well as worried about the effect such a revelation would have on his career.
On Monday, the National Enquirer, citing an 18-month investigation, named Sheen in a story alleging that the 50-year-old is HIV-positive and had known for four years.
Around the same time, NBC announced Sheen’s scheduled “Today” appearance. The New York Daily News said the tabloid had rushed to release its cover story out a couple of days ahead of time to try to stay ahead of the actor’s revelation.
Well-known publicist and crisis manager Howard Bragman told People on the record Monday afternoon that he’d been approached by people close to Sheen about six months ago regarding handling the revelation. He did not, however, ever deal with the actor directly, he said.
“It’s been going on for quite awhile,” Bragman told the magazine after noting that he’d heard Sheen was getting treatment. “He’s not necessarily comfortable talking about it. It was very hard to get up the courage for him to talk about it.”
Dixie Chicks plan U.S. tour
The Dixie Chicks are ready to party in the U.S.A.
The Grammy-winning group will kick off its the U.S. portion of its “DCX MMXVI World Tour” on June 1 in Cincinnati. It wraps up the tour Oct. 10 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Tickets go on sale Friday.
The group will visit more than 40 cities, including New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Detroit, Dallas, and Toronto. Performances in the Seattle area and Portland area are scheduled for July.
The Dixie Chicks are Natalie Maines, Emily Robison and Martie Maguire. Their last album, “Taking the Long Way,” was in 2006. It won the Grammy for album of the year. And its hit single, “Not Ready to Make Nice,” won song and record of the year Grammys.
The Dixie Chicks’ North American tour will follow the group’s European tour that begins in April.
The birthday bunch
Singer Gordon Lightfoot is 77. Movie director Martin Scorsese is 73. Actress Lauren Hutton is 72. Actor-director Danny DeVito is 71. “Saturday Night Live” producer Lorne Michaels is 71. Actress Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is 57. Entertainer RuPaul is 55. Actress Rachel McAdams is 37. Musician Reid Perry (The Band Perry) is 27.