Two and a Half Men’s Charlie Sheen to reveal HIV status on TV

Charlie Sheen is expected to disclose that he is HIV positive in an exclusive “Today” Show interview on Tuesday, a source with direct knowledge of the interview told CNNMoney.

On Monday, NBC announced that the actor would be making a “revealing personal announcement” on the “Today” show Tuesday morning.

The source told CNNMoney that Sheen is expected to discuss his HIV condition when he sits down with Matt Lauer live from the “Today” show studio in New York City.

In addition, Hollywood public relations specialist Howard Bragman was quoted in People Magazine saying that Sheen “is getting treatment, and a lot of people in his life know about it.”

“I’ve known about this a long time, it’s not a surprise to me,” Bragman, who said he was asked to work with Sheen, told People. “I feel very sorry for his pain. And I hope it’s used as a teachable moment for the world. This is a disease that can affect anyone.”

Bragman said he did not end up working with Sheen directly on his HIV status.

Sheen, 50, is one of Hollywood’s best known actors, starring in hit films like “Wall Street” and on CBS’s “Two and a Half Men.”

Sheen was fired from “Two and a Half Men” in 2011 following a public meltdown that had the actor lashing out at the show’s creator.

Among the more notorious points of his career, Sheen entered drug rehab twice and lived with three women.

Sheen has been married multiple times to women including Brooke Mueller and Denise Richards and had children with each.

His salary on “Two and a Half Men” was one of the highest on TV at the time at $1.25 million per episode in 2010.

Sheen did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.

The news of Sheen’s “Today” appearance and the reason for it quickly became a top story on many sites.

The Today show tweeted about the live interview with Sheen about 12:15 pm ET. At 12:35 pm, the National Equirer posted a “world exclusive” reporting that Sheen had tested positive for the disease.

About 20 minutes later, TMZ reported that sources told the site the “Today” show interview would disclose Sheen’s HIV status.

Other news sites including Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and USA Today reported Sheen’s status while citing the TMZ and the Enquirer’s stories.

The Drudge Report on Monday put the Enquirer’s story at the top of its site with the headline, “Mag: Charlie Sheen ‘HIV Positive'” in capital letters. Within hours of the Today show tweet, Sheen was the top trending Twitter topic in the United States.