Richard Gere Discusses HIV/AIDS in India, Praises Bush’s Efforts To Battle the Disease
ABCNews' "This Week" on Sunday included an interview with HIV/AIDS advocate and actor Richard Gere about the HIV epidemic in India and President Bush's worldwide efforts to fight the disease. "There has not been a president who has taken this subject more seriously than our current president," Gere said, adding that, although he does not agree with Bush on many issues, "I certainly can praise him on this." According to Gere, "If this crisis hits [India] to the degree it's expected to, we've lost Asia. We're all in this together." In the interview, Gere also discussed his ability to talk to people in the Indian government, business and entertainment communities about HIV/AIDS, as well as the level of stigma surrounding the disease in the country (Stephanopoulos, "This Week," ABCNews, 2/26).
Video of the "This Week" interview is available online. Additional video from the interview is available online. A transcript of the additional video segment is available online.