Former Who's the Boss star Danny Pintauro made a stunning, sad announcement during an interview with Oprah Winfrey on Saturday night:
He is HIV positive.
The actor, who portrayed Jonathan on the family sitcom for eight years, opened the Q&A by coming right out with this troubling piece of information.
"I wanted to tell you this a long time ago, but I wasn't ready. I'm ready now," Pintauro said. "I'm HIV-positive, and I have been for 12 years."
In the above clip, Pintauro (who also came out as gay in 1997) talks about the dangers of crystal meth, drug he was addicted to for many years.
Pintauro explained that he underwent testing once every six months... and was then told the devastating news in March of 2003.
"I was living in New York at the time and completely clueless to the idea that I was positive. I went in for a regular checkup," Pintauro says.
"It was just regular blood work. You go in, and you sort of waited two weeks on pins and needles -- or at least I did, because I was just terrified of the idea of getting HIV."
The actor went on to explain how “crystal meth takes away your inhibitions” and that he thought he was “being safe” during the sexual encounter that changed his life.
Today, Pintauro lives with his husband in Las Vegas and works as a restaurant manager.
"What I want my community to realize is we need to take better care of ourselves," he says.
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