Jacob Tierney praised for frank discussion of HIV diagnosis in resurfaced clip
Jacob Tierney (Getty Images)
A resurfaced clip from Jacob Tierney’s 2022 appearance on the Good Morning, Sodomites! episode is drawing praise for the Heated Rivalry creator’s frank discussion of living with HIV and being undetectable.
Speaking to comedian and host Zach Noe Towers, Tierney said: “As you know, I am undetectable, I’m HIV-positive undetectable,” before describing the stigma he says still follows people living with HIV.
Tierney also spoke about getting HIV at 34 and how it affected him. “And I acquired HIV when I was 34, and it was really, really bad. I got very, very, very sick, lost a lot of weight, had a lot of bad medical complications that a lot of people don’t,” he said.
He added that the person who transmitted HIV to him was “off their meds” and had a “very high viral” load, urging others: “So please stay on your meds.”
Later in the episode, Tierney said he developed Type 1 diabetes and went undiagnosed for months, until an HIV doctor identified what was wrong. He said he was “only two weeks away from complete kidney failure” or “a coma nobody could ever get you out of” before the diagnosis. “There was like a year and a half where I just was basically dying all the time,” Tierney said.
Tierney also described himself as a “full disclosure person”, and claimed that in Canada non-disclosure can be treated as a criminal offence even if someone is undetectable because “the laws have not officially caught up yet”.
‘So glad he’s still with us’
The clip has prompted a wave of appreciative comments from viewers thanking Tierney for speaking openly about HIV, treatment, and stigma.
One person said: “Truly heartening that we can now discuss this horrible disease without complete pessimism. So glad he’s still with us and creating beautiful things.”
Another said: “How beautiful that he centres sexual queer joy and freedom with Heated Rivalry, and has not allowed his diagnosis to turn him bitter.”
A third added: “The more I hear from this man the more proud I am to be a fellow Canadian.”
Jacob Tierney’s rise
The podcast episode was recorded in spring of ’22 and has been revisited more recently as Tierney’s profile has risen with the success of gay hockey drama Heated Rivalry.
He has a reputation for frank, comedic storytelling and for discussing sex and relationships without prudishness, and has spoken about his plans for season two of Heated Rivalry.
Tierney also recently slammed racist backlash directed at Hudson Williams being part of Heated Rivalry.
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