Hydeia Broadbent dead at 39: ‘Magic’ Johnson leads tributes to ‘incredible young woman and hero’ who was born with HIV and spent her life campaigning and educating millions to break the stigma
Magic Johnson leads the tribute to HIV advocate Hydeia Broadbent, who was born with the virus and died on Monday.
Broadbent moved the country at the age of 11 when she shared her heartbreaking story about being diagnosed HIV where Oprah moved the presenter to tears in 1996.
Johnson, who also has HIV, interviewed the future activist four years earlier, when she was seven, on his show “A Conversation with Magic Johnson.”
Broadbent spent her life tackling the stigma surrounding the virus.
Johnson paid a very moving tribute to his old friend on social media, offering his condolences and sharing his thoughts.
He had known her for over thirty years.
Magic Johnson comforted young Hydeia Broadbent when she cried while talking about her virus on the show in 1992 – at just seven years old, she had already become an advocate for HIV
Johnson and Broadbent at a music event in 2006, 14 years after they first met on his show
He wrote: ‘I am devastated to hear of the passing of an incredible young woman, activist and hero Hydeia Broadbent.
Broadbent’s HIV virus was first discovered when she was three years old. It developed into AIDS when she was five, a few years before she met the basketball player and activist on his show.
Actress and Broadbent’s childhood friend, Jurnee Smollett, has also paid tribute, saying she was a pioneer.
Smollett said, “I thank God for her light, her will.”
‘I will miss her laughter, her dancing, her cheerful smile that lit up her big beautiful cheeks, her terrible taste in TV shows, her hilarious way of joking about the fact that I’m actually a boring nerd inside, our motivations to listen to music. very hard, the tears we shed over heartbreak, the way she wore her heart on her sleeve and was unable to get through a motivational talk without bursting into tears at some point.
‘Courage was her middle name. A literal goddess with otherworldly power. The heart of a warrior who fought to the end. Rest in peace, beautiful one.”
Broadbent’s biological mother was a drug addict and abandoned her in a Las Vegas hospital after her birth. When she was ten months old, she was adopted by Patricia and Loren Broadbent.
Loren Broadbent announced the death of his daughter Facebook and said she was “determined to spread hope.”
aaccording to Kimberly R. McCoya relative, Broadbent was on dialysis and life support last year.
“It is with great sadness that I inform you all that our beloved friend, mentor and daughter Hydeia passed away today after living with (HIV) since birth.
After hearing about the girl’s ordeal, Winfrey began to warm up during the interview
Since then, Broadbent had become an advocate for HIV/AIDS and spent her life tackling the stigma surrounding the virus, especially during the AIDS crisis in the US in the 1990s, when such a diagnosis meant certain death.
Hydeia Broadbent rose to fame at the age of 11 when she shared her heartbreaking story of being diagnosed with HIV with Winfrey on her eponymous show in 1996.
But on February 20, Loren Broadbent announced his daughter’s death on Facebook, saying she was “determined to spread hope.”
“Despite facing countless challenges throughout her life, Hydeia remained determined to spread hope and positivity through HIV/AIDS education,” the grieving father wrote on the social media page.
Shortly after being abandoned as an infant by her drug-addicted birth mother in Nevada, Broadbent was adopted by Loren and Patricia Broadbent.
Until the age of six, the young child tagged along with her mother, a social worker, as she raised HIV awareness – and soon after started talking to people about the condition herself.
During her appearance on Oprah, Broadbent revealed that living with the disease was the hardest part of life for her and explained the problems it had caused her.
On the Oprah show in 1996, Broadbent went into detail about the effect the virus had on her life – and it brought the host to tears.
She said: ‘I had fungus in my brain, blood infections and pneumonia. I turned cold blue a few times and that was when I was five.
‘Many of my friends have died of AIDS. Because I have no choice. And I see so many people living recklessly. They’re just risking their lives. At what point do we get it?
‘You are not just dealing with HIV and AIDS. We have to address someone’s mental state because if I’m not feeling well, I’m not happy and I don’t want to get out of bed, I’m not going to take these pills to save my life.”
Winfrey welled up during the interview.
Her father has launched a GoFundMe for Broadbent.
‘Hi, I’m Loren Broadbent, Hydeia Broadbent’s father. Yesterday afternoon Hydeia passed away unexpectedly. Our hearts are broken.
“Hydeia has spent her life since the age of five showing us how to love, fight and stand up for people affected by HIV and AIDS.
“And as much as I wanted her to still be here fighting the big battle, God called her home. Let us all know. Well done.
‘In honor of her memory, the family would like to lay her to rest. That is why we are currently asking for donations. Along with good wishes and prayers. We would like to thank you in advance.’
The crowdfunding page has raised $3,438 of its $20,000 goal.
Broadbent told Oprah in the 1996 interview that attention should be paid to people’s mental states
On her 34th birthday, Broadbent wrote a blog post on her website to celebrate the milestone as someone in ‘the first generation of children born HIV positive’
Her father has launched a GoFundMe for Broadbent to ‘lay her to rest’
Despite being a passionate activist, Broadbent was open about her personal struggles with mental health.
On her 34th birthday, she wrote a blog post on her website saying, “The past few years have been extremely difficult; struggles with depression, which reached frightening points.
‘A depression so dark that I wasn’t sure how I would see the beauty of life again. I wasn’t sure how I was going to pull myself back up. I now have a new perspective, I can now see the blessings and lessons from my valley. I am a warrior, I parent every day, with a purpose, while still being a work in progress.”
The AIDS pandemic began in 1981, and throughout the 1990s, as it continued to spread through America, such a diagnosis meant certain death.