Charlie Sheen's Former Co-Worker Jenny McCarthy on His HIV Status: 'Ick!'

Actress and knower of science Jenny McCarthy recently shared her opinions about Charlie Sheen’s announcement that he is HIV-positive. Like her opinions on vaccines, McCarthy had incisive commentary, coupled with her signature dry wit. “Ick!” McCarthy said on her radio show, Dirty, Sexy, Funny.

McCarthy, who played Sheen’s love interest on eight episodes of Two and a Half Men, recounted her disgust about having to kiss the actor. A repulsion that would generally be understandable (who wants to kiss terrible human Charlie Sheen?), except for the fact that her discomfort wasn’t directed at Sheen but rather his HIV status. “Playing his love interest on the show, even back in the day…that’s not fair. It’s scary. I have sympathy for him because, you know, he’s sick and it’s awful, but man he’s going to have some major accountability with many people in his life,” she added.

McCarthy also wondered why actors engaged in kissing scenes weren’t required to disclose their HIV status. “I don’t even know how to feel about that. I’m like, ‘Wait a second. If I have to be upfront a herpe, how could you not be upfront about HIV?’” McCarthy, momentarily confused by how HIV is actually spread, later acknowledged that you cannot, in fact, contract the virus from kissing.

For his part, Sheen has said that he wasn’t diagnosed until after his run on Two and a Half Men ended, so McCarthy might be feeling the “ick!” over nothing.