Danny Pintauro says he contracted HIV through oral sex
By Will Stroude
Who’s the Boss
star Danny Pintauro made headlines around the world last week after his candid interview with Oprah in which he opened up about his crystal meth addiction and HIV status – and in a new chat he’s revealed that he believes he caught the virus through oral sex.
The former child actor, who has been HIV positive since 2003, says he contracted the virus despite using condoms during anal sex.
“Believe it or not, with this guy I was actually safe,” the 39-year-old told Us Magazine. “We did use condoms. I got it another way, which was through oral sex.”
He continued: “When you put all of these nasty things together, like a compromised immune system, having been up for a long time, drugs, rough sex, all of that combined with lesions in your mouth, bodily fluids, it’s that easy.”
According to the Terrence Higgins Trust, performing oral sex without a condom is considered very low risk activity, though that risk increases if infected bodily fluids get into the other person’s mouth.
During his interview with Oprah last week, Pintauro touched upon the relationship between drug use and increased HIV risk, saying: “I was doing crystal meth, which completely ruins your immune system… [It] takes away your inhibitions… And if you want to explore that adventurous side, taking the drug is going to put you there.
“I was experimenting. And believe it or not, I thought that I was being safe in that encounter. I know exactly when it happened.”
Admitting that he hadn’t been in touch with the man be believes passed the virus on to him, he told Us Magazine: “I have searched. I searched the obituaries because I had a fear that I’d find him there, and I can’t find him. So we’re going to keep doing it.
“Mostly I just want to find out if he’s okay. The lifestyle he was leading was really irresponsible and I just want to see if he survived.”
Pintauro is currently embarking on his ‘Beacon of Light’ media tour, to raise awareness about HIV, the dangers of crystal meth use and the HIV Equal Campaign, which aims to eliminate stigma surrounding the virus.
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