10 Celebrities Who Have Lived POSITIVELY With HIV ... NUMBER 10 WILL SHOCK YOU!

There are over 30 million people in the world living with the HIV virus, and celebrities such as Pedro Zamor, Koyo Bala and Eazy-E have used their celebrity status to raise awareness and de-stigmatize the disease by bringing the topic into the mainstream.

In honor of World AIDS Day, we look back at past celebrities who have lived with HIV/AIDS

BELOW ARE CELEBRITIES WHO LIVE POSITIVELY WITH HIV:

1. Koyo Bala

Bala publicly announced his HIV status in a 2011 interview with DRUM magazine. Bala, who was diagnosed in 2010, told the magazine he is HIV-positive. He added as a celebrity and someone who is openly gay, it is important to come out. Bala said he wanted to use his bubbly personality to help those struggling to come to terms with their status and instil a sense of hope. He died in 2015, not from the virus, but cancer.

2. Magic Johnson

The all-star NBA player and entrepreneur famously announced his positive HIV status during a press conference right before the 1991-1992 NBA Season. He found out after a routine physical and claimed that he was unaware of how he contracted the virus, though hr later admitted that he had multiple extramarital affairs during his basketball career.

Magic Johnson

Since his diagnosis, he has been an avid HIV activist and even created the Magic Johnson Foundation to help combat the disease.

3. Ongina

The RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 1 star revealed his fight with HIV after winning the “Mac Viva Glam” challenge episode. Ongina, whose real name is Ryan Ong Palao, celebrated his win by revealing his secret: “I just want to say, I’ve always been so afraid to say it, that I’ve been living with HIV for the last two years of my life and…it means so much to me,” he said. Ongina currently hosts a series on LOGO called HIV and Me, which features individuals who live with HIV.

4. Eazy-E

The N.W.A rapper found out he had contracted the fatal disease in 1995 after he went to the doctor thinking he had asthma. After sharing the news with his former N.W.A bandmates, he also wrote a message to his fans: “I just feel that I’ve got thousands and thousands of young fans that have to learn about what’s real when it comes to AIDS,” he wrote. “Like the others before me, I would like to turn my own problem into something good that will reach out to all my homeboys and their kin.
Because I want to save their a***s before it’s too late.” Eazy died just one month after being diagnosed.

5. Musa ‘Queen’ Njoko

The Gospel singer Musa announced her HIV-positive status 22-years ago. Njoko faced difficulties when she was diagnosed, because there was no treatment available in South Africa in 1995.

6. Thabang Sefatsa

During an interview in 2016, the former Roses United (SA football club) attacking midfielder Thabang Sefatsa revealed he was diagnosed with HIV in 2013.

7. Sylvester

Sylvester James, the “Queen of Disco,” was known for his drag performances in the ’70s and the anthem record “You Make me Feel (Mighty Real).” The disco singer died of AIDS complications in 1988 at the age of 41. His achievements in music earned his spot in the Dance Music Hall of Fame in 2005.

8. Gia

The fashion model is known for being one of the first famous women to die from AIDS. In the ’70s and ’80s she modeled for the world’s top designers and is considered to be the first true supermodel. Soon after becoming addicted to heroin, she contracted HIV and passed away at the age of 26. In 1998, Angelina Jolie portrayed Gia in an award-winning HBO biopic.

9. Pedro Zamora

In 1993, The Real World: San Francisco star brought HIV awareness to the MTV generation. Zamora shared his story on the show: at the age of 17 he tested positive for HIV and immediately dedicated his life to raise awareness in the community. Sadly, while the show was airing, Zamora became very ill and was hospitalized for months. He lost his battle with the disease hours after the last episode of the show aired. He was only 22 years old.

10. Jermaine Stewart

The American R&B Singer, best known for his hit “We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off,” died of AIDS-related liver cancer at the age of 39. With the help of Boy George and Mickey Craig, Jermaine was able to score two Billboard hits in 1984 and 1986.

Before his death in 1997, there were rumors of Stewart releasing a book about all his sexual encounters with famous African-American men, but nothing came of it.