Over the years, many celebrities have opened up about their health issues. There are countless stars who have battled cancer or other illnesses, but far fewer who have chosen to talk about diseases that are considered embarrassing.

While the Internet has its theories about which Hollywood stars are infected, there are only a few celebrities out there who are brave enough to talk about their STDs or their battle with hepatits C (which can be transmitted sexually in some cases, but is a bloodborne pathogen more often associated with drug use).

Part 1

1

Pamela Anderson

After a routine tattoo procedure in the 1990s, the Baywatch star was infected with Hepatitis C from sharing a needled with then husband, Tommy Lee. The star attests that before the incident, she was free of any kind of diseases. She also reports that Lee never told her he had the disease.

2

Magic Johnson

Former Los Angeles Lakers player Earvin “Magic” Johnson held a press conference in 1991 and announced that he had tested positive for HIV. He admits that he contracted the disease through unprotected sex. Johnson went on to create the Magic Johnson Foundation to help combat the disease.

3

Trey Songz

In 2009, the singer and songwriter admitted that he had contracted crabs from an ex-girlfriend. He admits that when he was teenager, he realized he had contracted the disease. No one knew he was having sex at the time, and he eventually had to tell someone.

4

Billy Idol

In a 2005 interview, Idol confessed that he had contracted herpes. He also mentioned that the AIDs epidemic put a stop to his free-love lifestyle. Good thing he stopped with one STD.

5

Steven Tyler

In 2006, Tyler revealed that he had been battling Hepatitis C for some time. The singer noted that he had been quiet about the disease. When the band went on break, the doctor said he had been asymptomatic and that it was an opportune time for chemotherapy.

6

Natasha Lyonne

The former American Pie star was admitted into intensive care in 2005. The cause? A collapsed lung and Hepatitis C. She recently joked about the incident, but mentioned her embarrassment.

7

Naomi Judd

Naomi Judd was diagnosed with hepatitis C in 1990 and was told that she only had three years to live, after unknowingly having contracted the disease eight years earlier. In 1998, the retired country singer claimed she was cured of the disease after treatment with a drug called alpha interferon.

8

Anthony Kiedis

Red Hot Chili Peppers singer Anthony Kiedis exposed that he contracted hepatitis C from a syringe when he was shooting heroin. The star reports that he had researched various herbal treatments. After trying a few, he found one that worked.

9

Jessica Alba

Jessica Alba has allegedly suffered from herpes. The model turned actor supposedly caught the disease from her ex-boyfriend named Derek Jeter. This rumor has been circulating for some time.

10

Lou Reed

The infamous leader of Velvet Underground, Lou Reed died in October 2013 at age 71 of complications from hepatitis C and liver disease, only months after receiving a liver transplant. Reed is said to have contracted disease through shared needles during his early years of injection drug use.

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