Burt Reynolds Faces Ire for Comment on Charlie Sheen

Los Angeles, Dec 9 (IANS) Actor Burt Reynolds received a backlash from Twitteratti after he weighed into Charlie Sheen -- who recently said he was HIV-positive -- saying the "Two and a Half Men" star "deserves" it.

During his appearance on British talk show "Loose Women", the 79-year-old actor said Sheen got what he deserved.

The Twitteratti quickly reacted to Reynolds's harsh comment about Sheen. Most of them were of the opinion that the veteran actor should have been more empathetic for Charlie, reports aceshowbiz.com.

One user @ALISONGBARMY wrote: "Disgusting of Burt Reynolds to say Charlie Sheen deserves hiv. No matter how much you don't like someone, you don't wish illness on them."

Another user @ddiva5263 even called Reynolds a "nasty" man for his comment.

"@loosewomen What a horrible thing for #burtreynolds to say, that #CharlieSheen deserves HIV. What a nasty man."

Another user @bbellajamess tweeted: "Burt Reynolds is an a**hole. He wasn't so innocent when he was @charliesheen age. He was a real bastard. Leave Charlie alone Burt."

On the show, Reynolds, whose career was beset by HIV rumours in the 1980s, was asked if he felt sorry for Sheen.

He said: "He's handled it badly, I think. His father is a very, very decent man and a dear friend of mine. I feel bad for him but Charlie, I don't feel bad for him. He's getting what he deserves. If you're going to misbehave like that, they're going to get you."

Reynolds didn't stop there. The actor of "The Longest Yard" went on to say: "He misbehaved badly. Very badly."

"But you know, when you're that age, it's tough. All those things are coming at you and it's difficult," he added.