In the words of CBS and Warner Bros., due to the “totality of Charlie Sheen’s statements, conduct and condition,” production has ceased on the top-rated sitcom Two and a Half Men.
The 45-year-old Sheen, who seems to be doing his best impression of how to spectacularly end a career in showbiz, gave a bizarre and incoherent radio interview with Alex Jones in which he tore into executive producer Chuck Lorre and other targets like Alcoholics Anonymous, calling it a “bootleg cult” with a 5% success rate, compared with his own “100%” success rate.
(More on TIME.com: See Charlie Sheen in TIME’s list of the top 10 scandals of 2010.)
Going down a similar path to Mel Gibson’s, Sheen seemed to show elements of anti-Semitism in his spleen. “There’s something this side of deplorable that a certain Chaim Levine — yeah, that’s Chuck’s real name — mistook this rock star for his own selfish exit strategy, bro. Check it, Alex: I embarrassed him in front of his children and the world by healing at a pace that his unevolved mind cannot process.”
But Sheen wasn’t done. “Last I checked, Chaim, I spent close to the last decade effortlessly and magically converting your tin cans into pure gold,” he said. “And the gratitude I get is, this charlatan chose not to do his job, which is to write.”
While Lorre had no comment on either Sheen’s remarks or the production shutdown, the increasingly erratic Sheen would not go quietly. In what TMZ dubbed an “open letter,” Sheen called Lorre a “contaminated little maggot” and wished the producer “nothing but pain.” He also wants his fans to start a protest movement on his behalf, which may be difficult considering that he could be down to single figures on that front. “I urge all my beautiful and loyal fans who embraced this show for almost a decade to walk with me side-by-side as we march up the steps of justice to right this unconscionable wrong,” he wrote.
(More on TIME.com: See the top 50 websites of 2010.)
Because of the existing hiatus of Two and a Half Men, due to Sheen’s rehab for reported drug and alcohol abuse, there were going to be only 20 episodes, rather than the usual 24, in its current season. This will now become 16, which is an additional headache the network could have done without. “It may be lonely up here, but I sure like the view, Alex,” said Sheen. At this rate, the actor may need to get used to spending time by himself. (via AP)