Charlie Sheen wanted his employers to apologise “while licking my feet” – but instead the actor is licking his own wounds after Warner Brothers announced that the truculent star of its hit sitcom Two and a Half Men has been fired.
“After careful consideration, Warner Brothers Television has terminated Charlie Sheen’s services on Two and a Half Men effective immediately,” the studio said, in a decision that is likely to cost Sheen tens of millions of dollars in potential earnings.
The move follows a week-long media circus performed by Sheen, after he rejected requests by the studio and its broadcast network CBS to enter rehabilitation.
Instead, the “crack-smoking, prostitute-frequenting Mr Sheen” — in the words of the normally restrained New York Times — embarked on a series of outlandish interviews, in which he denounced his employers, offered blood and urine samples for drug tests, and made a string of bombastic sound bites.
Sheen’s response to his dismissal, recorded by the website TMZ, came in typical fashion.
“This is very good news. They continue to be in breach, like so many whales. It is a big day of gladness at the Sober Valley Lodge because now I can take all of the bazillions, never have to look at whatshiscock again and I never have to put on those silly shirts for as long as this warlock exists in the terrestrial dimension,” Sheen said.
Scholars of 21st century pop culture will note that “Sober Valley Lodge” is the name Sheen calls his home in Los Angeles, “whatshiscock” is a reference to Chuck Lorre, the creator of Two and a Half Men, and the silly shirts are those worn by Sheen’s character.
Because Sheen’s contract has no “morals clause”, allowing the network to replace or sack him for bad behaviour, both sides are now gearing up for a legal battle. If the sitcom is canceled entirely, Warner Brothers and CBS stand to lose as much as $250-million in revenue. – guardian.co.uk