HIV+ Celebrities

[genericuser]

On 7 November 1991 Magic Johnson announced to the world that he is HIV positive.

In the 22 years since Magic's announcement a total of 0 celebrities in the spotlight have revealed they are HIV+, or perhaps in 22 years HIV has been cured in music, movies, television and sports (I'm sure that is it)...

I bring this up because watching the Emmy awards tonight I saw a celebrity I've watched for ages and for the first time I thought that his face had an emaciated appearance that is often discussed here and I wonder if he, me and Magic have something in common...

Here's a pic from tonight's Emmy's:

Thoughts?

[Guest GoodExercise]

I saw NPT on a late night talk show -- thought he had The Look, for sure. I hope so!

[Guest JizzDumpWI]

Honest, I think it is unlikely that NPH has the bug. But it is interesting that seemingly no celeb's have come out POZ. Maybe they've all been on PrEP for years?

[genericuser]

Honest, I think it is unlikely that NPH has the bug. But it is interesting that seemingly no celeb's have come out POZ. Maybe they've all been on PrEP for years?

I tend to think that it has less to do with PrEP and more to do with not wanting to be labeled; which is a double-edged sword considering the empathy for anyone in the spotlight who values their medical privacy and on the other hand considering all the positive elements that Magic's advocacy has brought to HIV. Remember: It is Magic who shattered the general public's perception that HIV is a death sentence.

[Guest JizzDumpWI]

Definitely. And i was tongue in cheek about PrEP. For openers it is too new to be a factor in 20 years of seemingly no celeb pozzings. Paparozzi woulf make life hell for any celeb that bold to be out and poz.

[Scandbro]

I agree it is possible. Based on that photo I would suggest a couple of things, 1) he's poz 2)he is an alcoholic, or drug addict. 3)he doesn't eat much, or has a gastric issue. ( I don't follow him at all, he might be a straight edge for all I know so please don't be offended about my addict comment) My reason for suggesting a gastric issue is because I have cousin who has always been very skinny, and then he suffered from a gastric issue and was on a colostomy bag for awhile. Ever since he has had that wasted looking face, makes him look older than he is.

[BREEDmeRAW]

I don't personally know, but I very, very much doubt it. He has ALWAYS been thin and small--- hell he played a child Doctor remember..... and I doubt that he and his husband have any intention on telling the public or doing ANYTHING that would put their children at risk. With his MONEY, he has the best doctors available.... so I am sure the BEST AIDS DRUGS on the planet. ALL their medical is the very best.

AND YES... Neil did ALL the talk show rounds from "the Talk" with the girls in the afternoon to the Late-Late show ----- You know... the CBS shows to promote the EMMY'S which kicks off the FALL SCHEDULE for the Major Networks. If you don't know.... this AWARD Show held in Hollywood at the New home of the OSCARS = this is for both new actors/characters to be recognized... while the networks plug their shows. While Famous people are nominatted, it is more often the "new talent" that wins to "showcase" their previous work in hopes that you will want to see them more often in TV or other series. It is also more Group than individual. Welcome to awards seasons.... as if they ever end. Neil Patrick Harris is thin BECAUSE he does a lot of DANCING in those BROADWAY shows..... he was fabulous in the Tony's.

As to others who have come out....... tread lightly my friends..... for the gay community is just beginning to appear... and many parts of the world it is still a crime to be gay. To be known as someone that is "Sick-Contagious or Diseases" is usually not the look that Hollywood/NYC goes for these days. There are still many who DENY being gay (though he REALLY should THINK about that BEFORE he was down on his knees sucking dick in gay bars). Thanks to a good PR and finding a few "look-a-likes" you can make people believe ANY THING.

If it is in the newspaper or on the web, then it must be true... right..... Wrong.

If you believe the tabloids, I got a few bridges to sell you.

Edited September 23, 2013 by BREEDmeRAW

[Scandbro]

Oh thank you so much for that. Really insightful

[SouthCal323]

I tend to think that it has less to do with PrEP and more to do with not wanting to be labeled; which is a double-edged sword considering the empathy for anyone in the spotlight who values their medical privacy and on the other hand considering all the positive elements that Magic's advocacy has brought to HIV. Remember: It is Magic who shattered the general public's perception that HIV is a death sentence.

Greg Louganis did more for shattering the image for gay men than Johnson did. He says little to nothing about its impact on the gay community,

[genericuser]

Greg Louganis did more for shattering the image for gay men than Johnson did. He says little to nothing about its impact on the gay community,

I completely disagree; maybe it is a generational difference-- I was not even double digits (hadn't hit the big 10) when Magic Johnson announced he is HIV+. Magic continued to play in the NBA (after a brief absence) following his diagnosis and has consistently been an A-list public figure who the world sees regularly. Magic shattered the stereotype that the world had grown accustom to (think Tom Hanks in Philadelphia) and altered the perception of the virus to the public. While Louganis may have done that for people in your generation @SouthCal323, I would argue that the scope of his impact was much more limited simply because Greg is not as prominent as Magic and he hasn't been as public of an advocate to the mainstream as Magic. I honestly had forgotten Louganis is HIV+ and actually Googled it after seeing your post.

I think we can all agree that apparently since Magic's revelation in 1991; in the last 22 years apparently one can achieve immunity from HIV with a career as a Hollywood star, major music act or professional athlete... must be something in the really expensive water they all drink. ;-)

[rawTOP]

I'm moving this thread to the What's It Like To Be Poz? section of the site.

And just as a point of curiosity NPH and his boyfriend just bought a townhouse a few blocks from me...

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2013/09/05/neil_patrick_harris_bought_recordsetting_harlem_townhouse.php

[bearbandit]

I was at the PositivelyUK conference this weekend, and one of "demands/requests" was that someone positive with a high media profile stepped up to the mark. We had in our last government a guy who was not only gay but poz too - we didn't hear about that last bit till he was out of office! It would be nice if they came out before their careers nosedived... The one everybody in the UK looks to is Freddy Mercury: he didn't come out till the day before he died - and we did a massive job in collaborating with his "little secret": I was a regular at many of his favourite (well, the cheaper!) bars. Two of my boyfriends shared the same doctor... It was his responsibility to come out and the sod didn't till nearly the last moment.

Sorry, I could rant about HIV visibility for Wales! (That's if it were an Olympic sport and if we were allowed our own team instead of being subsumed into the UK team...)

[genericuser]

I was at the PositivelyUK conference this weekend, and one of "demands/requests" was that someone positive with a high media profile stepped up to the mark. We had in our last government a guy who was not only gay but poz too - we didn't hear about that last bit till he was out of office! It would be nice if they came out before their careers nosedived... The one everybody in the UK looks to is Freddy Mercury: he didn't come out till the day before he died - and we did a massive job in collaborating with his "little secret": I was a regular at many of his favourite (well, the cheaper!) bars. Two of my boyfriends shared the same doctor... It was his responsibility to come out and the sod didn't till nearly the last moment.

Sorry, I could rant about HIV visibility for Wales! (That's if it were an Olympic sport and if we were allowed our own team instead of being subsumed into the UK team...)

It's not just the UK; I saw a documentary recently which told the story of a famous actor who I'd never heard of called Rock Hudson who pretty much did the Freddy Mercury thing and waited until the last possible moment to reveal the cause of the dramatic change in his appearance. After seeing Behind the Candelabra (not a documentary) it seems Liberace lied about his condition not only until death but the denials continued for years. Also Mr Brady of the Brady Bunch died of AIDS but I don't know anything about his openness.

That being said, I completely support anyone who chooses to keep their medical issues out of the public eye; it is certainly their right to do so. Being an advocate or the "face" of anything is a burden and it takes a special type of person who can balance all of the bullshit that comes along with a revelation.

The one thing I find curious is that no one has HIV/AIDS identified as the cause of death anymore; while pneumonia may technically be the frequently listed cause of death, I think that it doesn't tell the entire story of both the individual or the virus. Loosely connected, I'd say the reasoning is similar to the lack of a major push for people of all sexual orientations to get tested-- because if that were to occur I'd wager that the HIV rates would skyrocket in first-world nations if the vast majority of people were tested and governments that have skewed the percentages to show improvement for decades do not want the reality revealed. IMO.

[genericuser]

I'm moving this thread to the What's It Like To Be Poz? section of the site.

And just as a point of curiosity NPH and his boyfriend just bought a townhouse a few blocks from me...

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2013/09/05/neil_patrick_harris_bought_recordsetting_harlem_townhouse.php

Thanks! I didn't know where it belonged (I knew where it didn't belong); I appreciate you putting it in the right place.

And look at you and your fancy neighbors; have you stopped by to ask to borrow a cup of sugar or skipped over with a welcome to the neighborhood gift basket of muffins and jam? :-)

[bearbandit]

It's not just the UK; I saw a documentary recently which told the story of a famous actor who I'd never heard of called Rock Hudson who pretty much did the Freddy Mercury thing and waited until the last possible moment to reveal the cause of the dramatic change in his appearance. After seeing Behind the Candelabra (not a documentary) it seems Liberace lied about his condition not only until death but the denials continued for years. Also Mr Brady of the Brady Bunch died of AIDS but I don't know anything about his openness.

That being said, I completely support anyone who chooses to keep their medical issues out of the public eye; it is certainly their right to do so. Being an advocate or the "face" of anything is a burden and it takes a special type of person who can balance all of the bullshit that comes along with a revelation.

The one thing I find curious is that no one has HIV/AIDS identified as the cause of death anymore; while pneumonia may technically be the frequently listed cause of death, I think that it doesn't tell the entire story of both the individual or the virus. Loosely connected, I'd say the reasoning is similar to the lack of a major push for people of all sexual orientations to get tested-- because if that were to occur I'd wager that the HIV rates would skyrocket in first-world nations if the vast majority of people were tested and governments that have skewed the percentages to show improvement for decades do not want the reality revealed. IMO.

Even in the eighties, hospitals in the UK were divided as to weather to list HIV/aids as a cause of death or just the individual diseases involved. Thus my partner died of aspergillosis pneumonia without a mention of HIV, whereas our mutual ex-boyfriend, who died in a different hospital "had to to have AIDS as a cause of death on his death certificate", something which greatly upset his mother. We have our right to medical privacy even after our our deaths!

I view coming out as a person with HIV to be much the same as coming out as gay: we should all do it, but only as far as we are able . So if as far as you are able is a twenty-spot in a collection tin - THANK YOU! For me, personally, even moving to a town where I know no-one and looking like shit as I did last year, it's always been a question of "ask me an honest question and you'll get an honest answer..." It took till last week, just before I left for the HIV conference for the shopkeeper of our only shop in the village to ask "are you HIV+ then?"

There are plenty of us at grass-roots level who'll stand up and say we're poz (I was on TV last year talking about it) but we live in a celebrity-driven society: once someone does come out as HIV+, just watch their rating fall (worst case) or the respect we're accorded increase (best case). I've never been a royalist but my first thoughts on hearing of Princess Diana's death were "who the fuck's going to look out for us now?"