NBC News said Charlie Sheen‘s interview Tuesday on “Today” — during which the actor announced that he was HIV-positive — drew a record surge of visitors to Today.com.
The site had more than 100,000 concurrent users for at least an hour Tuesday, and Today.com received more than 1 million unique visitors from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. ET, according to an NBC News rep.
Today.com’s previous record came June 16, 2015, after the show’s exclusive interview with Rachel Dolezal, the civil rights activist accused of lying about her race, when the site topped 75,000 concurrent visitors.
“Today” promoted Sheen’s appearance, announcing Monday that he would make a “revealing personal announcement,” followed by numerous reports that Sheen would disclose that he has HIV.
The 50-year-old actor told “Today” host Matt Lauer that he was diagnosed with HIV about four years ago. Sheen said he was coming forward because he had been subject to “shakedowns” from individuals, to whom he paid millions of dollars, threatening to expose his infection.
Following Lauer’s initial sit-down with Sheen at 7:40 a.m. ET, the show posted video of the segment on Today.com. Sheen also appeared in the 8 o’clock hour on the show with his doctor, who discussed his current health.
