Earvin "Magic" Johnson's HIV serostatus disclosure: effects on men's perceptions of AIDS

Abstract

The effects of celebrity self-disclosure of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seropositivity on perceptions of HIV and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) were investigated. AIDS-related interest and knowledge measures were collected from 468 men before and after basketball star Earvin "Magic" Johnson's self-disclosure of HIV seropositivity. Increased interest in AIDS paralleled media coverage of the announcement, with the most substantial effects occurring within 2 weeks. Perceived impact of the disclosure was greatest among African-American men and men who had not previously known someone with HIV-AIDS. Celebrity self-disclosure appears to affect perceptions through mechanisms similar to those involved in personally knowing someone infected with HIV.