MovieChat Forums > Kids (1995) Discussion > Did Telly know he had HIV?

Did Telly know he had HIV?


He didn't seem like the type to go and get checked. Forgive me if the answer is obvious but idk if it was mentioned or implied that he himself knew he had it.

honey badger don't care.

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I don't think so. Probably didn't know how to tie his own shoelaces either.

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I always suspected that he knew he had it, but didn't care.

"Why do you say this to me when you know I will kill you for it?"

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The film doesn't address it specifically, but he doesn't appear to be the type who regularly gets tested.

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Definitely don't think he knew he had it... Why would he make that assumption if for the longest time he's only slept with virgins?

"You're going to need a bigger boat." - Chief Brody

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Well that's why I was wondering. The description for the movie says an HIV positive man sleeps with as many virgins as possible which makes it sound like it's intentional and he's trying to infect them but the movie never really makes it clear if he knew he had it.

honey badger don't care.

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He definitely didn't know. The scene in the beginning where all the guys are talking about sex and STDs pretty depicted them as seeing STDs as a myth and not something they or anyone they knew could possibly have.

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Uh he definitely did know. When they were At Paul's apt and the guys started talking about aids and HIV the camera pans to telly he looks uneasy and doesn't say one word about it. Then at the pool when darcy notices a lesion and he calls it his "3rd nipple"... And he didn't always do it with virgins he even says that he switched to virgins probably when he found out he had hiv

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Yep this.

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I agree! I recently watched the film again and noticed that too, Telly is uneasy at Paul's apartment and they are talking about AIDS. I think he knew.

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I think the uneasiness is just supposed to reflect that he is more for not even discussing the potential of getting such a nasty disease from the sex he loves, while he doesn't see it as realistic that he would ever get it, he's still uneasy with where this kid is going with the whole "It's all *Stutters* it's all MADE UP!" ramble. Telly is supposed to be a huge *beep* but not a complete psychopath, knowingly spreading a deadly disease. I mean that's a clever rewrite/way to think of the film differently, but it's definitely not what's intended

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You could be right, but I do not think any high school boy is or was afraid of getting HIV/AIDS. I think the uneasiness Telly shows when they are discussing HIV/AIDS is not expected to be noticed the first time you watch the film. Once you have watched the film and know that Telly is either HIV positive or has AIDS it makes you wonder. I also did not catch the bit at the pool when Darcy says what is this referring to a lesion he has from AIDS and he says a third nipple. That to me is the second tell that Telly knew he had HIV/AIDS.

This is great movie debate about the film, I doubt the director will ever tell us the answer.

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Well the third-nipple thing, Leo Fitzpatrick really has that on his body, you can see it in Larry Clark's later "Bully" film with him. It's still possible, though!

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Do you think he *honestly* knew he did? I mean he was just a dumb kid who wanted to bang as many chicks as he could. The consequences of having unprotected sex weren't something he thought about or BELIEVED. In the scene at Paul's I didn't notice him giving a weird face. I just know he said he didn't believe in STDs or using condoms because the condoms didn't work (broke, slipped or made your dick shrink).

As far as the bruise (lesion or whatever it was) goes, I don't think he knew or cared what it was. He just jokingly called it his triple nipple.

I don't think he knew he had HIV. He was too stupid to know. He was the type that would never get tested or even care to (he didn't believe in HIV). Plus he was a kid..... I just don't think he did.

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he quite clearly didn't know.

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I watched once as a kid. I remember at that time it was believed you could get rid of the virus by having sex with with virgins. After learning Jennie she had got HIV from Telly, thinking about his line regarding taking a liking to only wanting to be with virgins made me think he was carelessly passing it along. I'm rewatching now and only just now checking into IMDM that is the only sign I've seen so far to make think he knew. But I always watch movies 3 or 4 times when theyre good so Ill be checking again

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The irony is that even if he did, he wouldn't have had to disclose this to anyone in this day and age. Back in 1995, knowingly spreading HIV was seen as a criminal act, but now the SJWs are pushing for the right to non-disclosure, meaning that you no longer have to tell a prospective partner that you are HIV+ unless they explicitly ask you. In some countries, this is now the law. So according to the radical SJW leftists, she didn't ask for his status, so he was under no obligation to reveal it whether he knew about it or not.

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