Jenny McCarthy: 'Actors must declare health conditions'

Charlie Sheen's TV co-star Jenny Mccarthy is standing by her belief that actors should be compelled to disclose their medical conditions amid a row over her former colleague's HIV diagnosis.

The actor went public with his health crisis this week (beg16Nov15) during an appearance on the Today show, revealing he was diagnosed with HIV four years ago and had paid out millions in extortion money to keep his condition secret.

After Sheen's big announcement, his former co-star McCarthy spoke out about her concerns for the actor, and insisted he should have declared his medical condition while they were playing lovers on his hit sitcom Two and a Half Men.

"I'm like, 'Wait a second. If I have to be upfront a herpe (sic), how could you not be upfront about HIV?'" she explained during an episode of her Sirius XM Radio show. "I look back and I'm like, 'Okay, that would have been some valuable information.' Look how many people have played his love interest on the show. I mean, not that you can obviously get it through kissing, but still that's a big deal."

Sheen's manager Mark Burg subsequently declared the actor was infected with HIV "long after he worked with Jenny", but McCarthy has now hit back, insisting her comments about declaring medical conditions are still valid.

In a statement posted on Twitter.com, she writes, "The point I raised about Charlie Sheen on my Sirius radio show, had nothing to do with whether or not I think he put me at risk. I simply took issue with a double standard in the industry. Every actress (and actor for that matter) must disclose hundreds of personal health matters before ever being allowed to set foot on a film set.

"Yet an actor who interacts physically with dozens of actresses in intimate scenes, is not required to disclose that he has HIV? I am very aware that HIV is not spread through kissing, but I also believe that if an actress has to disclose all of her business before kissing a male co-star, that actor should be required to disclose something (as) major as an HIV infection too."

McCarthy concludes her message by adding, "His (Sheen's) disclosures in his personal life are none of my business, and are for him to reconcile with the people he interacted with privately. I am not one of them."