Martin Sheen praises son Charlie's 'courage' amid HIV reveal

NAPLES, Fla., Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Martin Sheen broke his silence on son Charlie Sheen's HIV status Tuesday.

The 75-year-old actor opened up about his 50-year-old son during his speech at the CME Group's Global Financial Leadership Conference in Naples, Fla. Charlie Sheen had publicly revealed he is HIV-positive that morning on the Today show.

"He had been leading up to this sort of story for several months, and we kept encouraging him to do it," Sheen said. "And he kept backing away and backing away because it was like going to his own execution, I guess ... It was the most difficult thing he'd ever done."

"This morning, as I watched him alone, reveal his deepest, darkest secret, I couldn't believe the level of courage I was witnessing, and that it was my son," he shared. "I left him a message, and I said that if I had that much courage, I would change the world."

Charlie Sheen's doctor told Matt Lauer the star has an undetectable viral load thanks to anti-viral drugs. The actor insisted he didn't infect any of his sexual partners, including ex-girlfriend Bree Olson, who criticized him Tuesday on The Howard Stern Show.

"He never said anything to me," Olson claimed before revealing she is negative for HIV. "I was his girlfriend, I lived with him. We were together. We had sex almost every day for a year ... with lambskin condoms, which do not protect [against HIV. They only prevent] pregnancy."

Charlie Sheen is son to Martin and actress Janet Sheen, and brother to Renee, Ramon and Emilio Estevez. He is known for Two and a Half Men and Anger Management, and has five children by three women, including ex-wives Denise Richards and Brooke Mueller.