Former child star Danny Pintauro revealed that he has been HIV-positive for more than a decade in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, NBC News reported.
"I'm HIV-positive. And I have been for 12 years," Pintauro shared on Saturday night's episode of "Oprah: Where Are They Now?"
Pintauro played Judith Light's precocious son, Jonathan, on the popular Tony Danza sitcom "Who's the Boss?" that aired from 1984 until 1992 on ABC.
Pintauro, 39, told Winfrey he wanted to share his health status "a long time ago," but wasn't ready. He said he decided to share it now to serve as a role model for the gay community.
"It's just a big deal. It's not something that people are talking about right now really," he said.
He shared that he was diagnosed in March 2003 while living in New York. At the time he was "completely clueless" that he had the virus, he said.
Pintauro came out as gay in 1997 after the National Enquirer told him it was planning to out him.
