WARNER BROTHERS FIRING OF CHARLIE SHEEN

Dear Mr. Spiegel:

I’m writing you on behalf of Warner Brothers wanting to thank you for firing Charlie Sheen.  I’ve suffered for 30 years now at the hands of that man and I’ve had to suffer in silence.  My name is Jody Williams and I outlined the situation in a blog post here about Charlie and my group Sex Workers Anonymous.  http://traffickingandprostitutionservices.blogspot.com/2015/11/charlie-sheen-and-hiv-infection-of.html

When this woman became too ill to work at a job other than escorting back in the late 1980’s - I took her into my home and cared for her until such time as she had to go into hospice.  Her family took over from there who had been estranged from her because of her choice to be an escort back in the 1980’s.  She had dated Charlie in high school and evidently they had been “childhood sweethearts”.  When I wasn’t getting calls back from her family, and didn’t know how to care for her - I reached out to Charlie myself.  I was threatened with all kinds of legal and criminal action if I didn’t “back off”. 

Which even if he didn’t want to help her out financially - the least the man could have done was to support our work that was there for her at such a time.  But no - he continued to not only “party” but to blaze through other prostitutes like disposable Kleenex when he knew good and well he could possibly be carrying the virus then.  I didn’t know if he was infected then - but knowing she had it and he had been sleeping with her - certainly he was at risk. 

I didn’t know anything directly about Charlie’s HIV status directly until I started getting calls from women who shared a sexual history with him who were HIV positive.  Only if this was happening back in the 1980’s we would have had no problem getting them help.  Something changed after 2003.  These changes essentially cut off all services to those coming out of the sex industry who were not street prostitutes escaping a pimp specifically.  If someone even so much as MENTIONED this person was a sex worker and NOT a 100 percent “victim of trafficking” suddenly the whole system was cut off to them again in some weird bizaare twist of history.

What I mean by that is in the 70’s and 80’s - prostitutes were ignored by both the legal and health systems.   It didn’t matter if they were a trafficking victim or a high priced hooker - they were ignored by the law and ignored by the health systems because they were viewed as “criminals” and therefore not to exist.  So we pushed to create the modern day trafficking movement to change that.  Then in some weird twist - suddenly the legal and health systems are saying “okay we’ll acknowledge those who say they were victims - but we won’t acknowledge anyone who says they were a prostitute or  sex worker”. 

In fact, about a year ago - a whole campaign kicked off to even TELL the public not to even say such a thing “existed” with the “No Such Thing” campaign.  Sounds harmless right?  Only I swear to you that when I called the womens’ jail here in Los Angeles to start up a SWA meeting there a few months ago - I was told “we don’t have any prostitutes here.  We have victims of trafficking but no prostitutes”.  It got better when I was told the police department for 2015 was showing ZERO under juvenile prostitution arrests. 

The reason that fact will make you feel like you just dropped acid is because that number is always used to calculate HIV rates ESPECIALLY when those arrested for prostitution are given mandatory HIV tests.   The reason why I’m telling you this is because when I saw all this press hitting the air waves and I saw that report saying not just no juveniles were arrested for prostitution but none were tested for HIV - the first thing I said to myself is “who is trying to cover up they gave HIV to a juvenile”?

I don’t know when Charlie was told officially he had HIV Mr. Spiegel.  But I do know he knows that a women he went to school with died of this while he stood by and did nothing.  Also, this meant he was at risk.  To then go out and promote the use of prostitution, and also encourage young women into thinking it was all a “party at Charlie’s house” went beyond reckless partying.  He’s now endangered, and possibly murdered, people now and has threatened the public health.  With this very strange “no such thing campaign” I’m also willing to bet somewhere down the line we're going to hear he’s deliberately infected juveniles.   Which he’s also already done infecting adults.  Adults who are mothers and wives and are with other people.  He’s shown more than a disregard for mankind - but to me is on the same level as a serial killer. 

Until I see him stepping up to do something to help clean up the mess he's made that I’ve had to stay silent about previously for fear of being sued by him, and our members being “anonymous”, then he’s a monster in my mind with no remorse.  Not something I would think Warner Brothers would want to represent them.  

On a side note, I’ve been working on my memoirs of the history of the movement itself for a while now.  I’ve been agonizing over how to write about any of this without being sued by him for defamation.  At least now I can be open about everything without fear.  I’m writing it because I want people to see how backwards the movement has become.  Now instead of ignoring all of us - the system is only acknowledging the ones who say they never did it “voluntarily”.  In other words, everyone of Charlie’s escorts. I know he’s been paying people to keep  a lid on this before I’ve got a stack now of reporters who tell me they’ve been told they’ll be fired if they so much as even write my name now.  Only when they've even asked “why”? no one has answered them.  Clearly with the answer being Charlie trying to keep all of this quiet - answering would have just revealed it. 

Meaning at least I think the media ban on us will be repealed now he’s come clean!  So I wanted to thank you and Warner Brothers for joining with us in the feeling that this behavior was criminal and not wanting him to represent you.   I’m STILL not seeing one bit of remorse out of him or even acknowledgment of what he's done.  Thank you again.

Jody Williams

www.sexworkersanonymous.com