Charlie Sheen admits he was a sex addict, says he was extorted by partners
Charlie Sheen has admitted he was a sex addict who was extorted by his sexual partners during the height of his drug abuse that made headlines and nearly cost him his acting career.
Sheen had sex with men during that time, but kept it secret due to being extorted, the actor told "Good Morning America" co-anchor Michael Strahan in an interview that aired Friday on "GMA."
"It did come with a tremendous amount of extortion," Sheen told Strahan. "And so at the time, I was just like, 'Alright, let's just pay to keep it quiet. And just hope it just stays over there, make it go away, you know? Make it go away.'"
Sheen, 60, said that over the years, he felt like he was being "held hostage" by choosing to pay people instead of risking his secrets being made public.
"I just need to be free of that ... and then see how the world feels if people know that stuff," he said of his decision to speak publicly. "Because I've written a story all these years about, 'Oh jeez, if I ever reveal that, then this has to be how I'd be dealt with, how I'd be treated, how they'd feel.'"
Sheen, the Golden Globe-winning star of hit TV shows and movies including "Platoon" and "Two and a Half Men," writes in his own words about his past scandals and turmoil in his new memoir, "The Book of Sheen," about which he spoke to Strahan.
In addition to his sex life, Sheen writes in the book, available on Sept. 9, about his HIV diagnosis and his decision to stop using drugs the same year he publicly announced his diagnosis, in 2015.
Sheen told Strahan he went onto quit alcohol in 2017 and has been completely sober since then.
"My body was starting to reject it," he said of his decision to stop drinking. "Literally, like, turning inside out. I was a mess."
Tune into "Good Morning America" on Monday, Sept. 8, at 7 a.m., ET on ABC for more of Michael Strahan's interview with Charlie Sheen about his memoir, "The Book of Sheen."
Describing his health today, Sheen said he feels "pretty good."
When he looks back on the person he was over a decade ago, Sheen said he doesn't recognize himself.
In 2011, during the height of the success of "Two and a Half Men," the show was put on hiatus so Sheen could enter rehab. Later on, he was barred from the set of the show and eventually fired.
Around that time, Sheen became infamous for some of his public declarations about his "tiger blood," “Adonis DNA" and "winning."
"I don't know who that is, and that's not a cop out. I don't know what part of me that came from," Sheen said of looking back at that time. "It's weird. It's like there's a possession going on. I'm like, you know, kind of pleading with that version of me to just, 'Dude, God, stop. Pull it back.'"
Sheen said he does have regrets from that time in his life, but has moved on, finding there's "no value" in holding onto them.
"I guess the only way to deal with it is just to not ever do anything or allow myself to wind up in a situation," he said, adding that he wants people to remember him for more. "There's probably a lot of people out there that still only know me from those viral clips, a guy screaming 'tiger blood' and 'winning' and all this other nonsense, right ... That was a moment in a really long career where things just went off the freaking rails."
In addition to his acting career, Sheen, the son of actor Martin Sheen, is also a father of five and a grandfather.
Sheen said that as his sobriety has evolved over the past years, his relationships with his children have evolved too.
"We have relationships, you know? And we have legitimate ones," he said. "And they really have nothing to do with anything that I do for a living."
Charlie Sheen said his relationship with his 21-year-old daughter Sami Sheen -- one of his two daughters with ex-wife Denise Richards -- remains distant, but he is hopeful for the future.
"I feel like as long as everybody's still in the game, there's always a shot for a better tomorrow, you know," he said. "I don't really know what I did, that's the problem. I don't know what I'm supposed to yet apologize for. But I have absolute faith that it's not a forever thing, and her and I will work it out. You know, we have a history that's too valuable to let, you know, some moment destroy all of that."
Tune into "Good Morning America" on Monday, Sept. 8, at 7 a.m., ET on ABC for more of Michael Strahan's interview with Charlie Sheen about his memoir, "The Book of Sheen."
