How an MTV Reality Star Fought an Epidemic

Comments · 1.1K

• JE

  @JeffinIC · 1 year ago

  I met Pedro before he was on The Real World. He spoke at my high school. I was a closeted gay kid, so his visit was very important to me. When I found out he was going to be on TRW, I recorded and watched every episode. His fast decline and passing hit me hard. RIP, dear Pedro. 💔😭

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• MA

  @maxturner3459 · 1 year ago

  The insane courage to be a 17 year old boy (a CHILD) and choosing to take on this role as an educator is mind blowing to me

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• IN

  @inalasahl · 1 year ago

  During this time, I had a boyfriend cheat on me and I wanted to get tested for HIV — my doctor told me it wasn’t a good idea. Told me that if I tested positive the insurance company would pressure my work to fire me so they wouldn’t have to cover me any more. My doctor told me to go to a free clinic to get tested under a fake name. That’s how hard it was for people to get health care then.

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• ME

  @metrodesignsny · 1 year ago

  I was choked up the whole time watching this, which I wasn't expecting. I was diagnosed with AIDS in 1992, and was hospitalized in 1994. I watched Pedro and Real World as I recovered from my first hospitalization, what I was going through was being mirrored on TV. I'm only here to tell the story because of the protease inhibitors that became available in 1996. The connection I feel to Pedro, his work, and that season of The Real World is very deep and touching. I never expected to be here 30 years later. Like Pedro, I didn't expect make it to 30. The only difference is timing. What he did in his 22 years is more than many people do in their lifetimes. There is a special place in my heart for Pedro, Judd and Pam. They are pebbles in the pond. Matt, your work is always amazing. Thank you.

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• LI

  @LightRenegade13 · 1 year ago

  My partner died of AIDS in 2020. It&apos;s not over. Thank you for making this documentary. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/actup">#ActUp</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/resist">#Resist</a>

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• JO

  @joshuahcraig7585 · 1 year ago

  Thank you for honoring Pedro. I was 12 when the Real World SF premiered and Pedro was my first exposure to a real gay person. Sean and Pedro’s relationship and commitment ceremony gave me an entirely new perception of what was possible for my future 💙

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• CU

  @CurseTheCosmos · 1 year ago (edited)

  I’ll never forget when he passed. Mind you, I was a kid, but my mom was in her mid-twenties and watched MTV pretty regularly. I remember the MTV News bulletin appearing on the screen announcing his death. I can still recall the sadness on my mom’s face. Then she picked up the phone. She called my uncle. They talked for a while. There was a sense of defeat from their conversation, but I remember her saying how much she loved my uncle; her brother. As I got a little older, I learned more about Pedro and why he was so important. I would also learn as I got older that my uncle was gay. I finally understood why Pedro’s death was so painful to so many, and yet, how empowering it was to see him be bold and genuine on national tv. Thank you, Pedro. You are no longer with us, but you are never forgotten.

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• LI

  @lizd.8655 · 1 year ago

  As a former victim of bullying, I could never understand why Puck had so many fans, even after all this time.

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• MA

  @mari9272 · 1 year ago

  As a Colombian, I have never heard of this show, and Pedro&apos;s journey deeply moved me as a queer Latina. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.

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• MO

  @mothiest-man · 1 year ago

  Pedro inspired my great uncle to come out. He was taken by AIDS in 2004, right after I was born. I wish Uncle Peter could see how far medicine has come.

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• CO

  @CourtneyYentruoc · 1 year ago

  Kills me to know Pedro&apos;s family barred Sean from his hospital room and he didn&apos;t get to see him in the days before he died. Wish I could feel good about how far we&apos;ve come... but now in a lot of ways it looks like we&apos;re going back...

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• IR

  @Irisarc1 · 1 year ago (edited)

  I sat here and watched this video, and teared up off and on from beginning to end. I&apos;m a 60yo bi woman, who &nbsp;lived with a wonderful female partner in the LGBTQIA (it wasn&apos;t called that then) through the 90s. We had several gay male friends who we watched go from full of life and healthy, to skinny and frail, then to in a hearse. It&apos;s impossible to convey what it&apos;s like to see friends dying one after another, with no way to help and no cure in sight. I made a square for the AIDS quilt in honor of two of our special friends, to help bring awareness to the country just how many individuals and their families had been wrecked by the disease.<br><br>This was such a hard video to watch, but it is an important one. I hope people of the younger generations who were not there at the time are able to watch it to see, even if just a little bit, what a nightmare AIDS was before treatments were developed. Most importantly, this could happen again. I know we all experienced aserious epidemic if a disease that was not universally fatal, but still killed so many people. A disease really could develop that is almost completely terminal. We have to keep our eyes open. We need to make people understand that we cannot be complacent, and let our guards down. We have to be ready.<br><br>I have a close friend, that my family and I consider to be my brother. He s gay and has been living with HIV for over 15 years now. He contracted it in the days before the drugs that help pte8it were developed. His T-cell levels stay high now, and hes doing fine. However, we went through a very scary ordeal together 6 years ago. He got very sick, so I dragged him to the ER. They did some tests, and discovered that he had non-hodgkins lymphoma, likely the result of his HIV status. He fought it hard for 2 years, and thankfully, &nbsp;he won the fight. But it was so scary to experience this with him, especially after what we had been through in the 90s.<br><br>Despite what many people think, AIDS has not gone away. People still die everday from this disease, just not in anywhere close to the numbers they did 30 years ago. I read the other day that a real treaatment has been developed in Europe. It has been shown to have cured HIV long-term in several patients. This treatment seems to be very promising. I hope it is. It&apos;s been way too long of a time in &nbsp;coming.

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