"Two and a Half Men" halted after Sheen rant

In this July 20, 2005 file photo, actor Charlie Sheen, right, co-star of "Two and a Half Men," and Chuck Lorre, executive producer of the show, are shown.

/ AP Photo/Nick Ut, file

LOS ANGELES - In the wake of an incendiary radio interview with "Two and a Half Men" star Charlie Sheen, CBS and Warner Bros. Television said they are ending production on TV's top-rated sitcom for the season.

The decision was based on the "totality of Charlie Sheen's statements, conduct and condition," the companies said in a joint statement Thursday. The show's future was not addressed.

PICTURES: Charlie Sheen
PICTURES: Sheen's up and downs

Production had been suspended in January to allow Sheen to seek rehabilitation. Earlier Thursday, Warner and Sheen's publicist, Stan Rosenfield, said the series would resume taping next week with Sheen.

That was before the 45-year-old actor's rambling, often vitriolic radio interview with host Alex Jones in which Sheen blasted "Two and a Half Men" producer Chuck Lorre and other targets including Alcoholics Anonymous.

The abrupt decision to pull the plug on additional episodes of the lucrative sitcom came after Sheen's increasingly erratic behavior, including an earlier interview in which he claimed he had sought to return to work but was barred by producers.

In his interview with Jones, Sheen repeatedly evoked violent images and ideas. He also derided Lorre in an attack that reeked of anti-Semitism.

"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," Sheen said.

"Last I checked, Chaim, I spent close to the last decade effortlessly and magically converting your tin cans into pure gold. And the gratitude I get is this charlatan chose not to do his job, which is to write," he said.

Lorre, who was born Charles Levine, is a veteran producer whose hits include "The Big Bang Theory," "Dharma & Greg" and "Cybill."

Speaking of himself, Sheen said he has "magic and poetry in my fingertips, most of the time."

Lorre had no comment on Sheen's remarks or the production shut down, a spokeswoman said Thursday. A call made after business hours Thursday to the publicist for Sheen's co-star, Jon Cryer, was not returned.

Sheen, however, did not go silent after the CBS and Warner announcement.

In what TMZ dubbed an "open letter" from Sheen that the website posted Thursday, the actor called Lorre a "contaminated little maggot" and wished the producer "nothing but pain."

Charlie Sheen fires back in letter

Sheen, improbably, also called on his fans to start a protest movement for him.

"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.

Warner had already planned to cut this season's 24 planned episodes to 20 because of the hiatus. Now, CBS is left with a total of 16 episodes of its cornerstone Monday comedy, all of which have aired.

The network and studio had tolerated Sheen's recent misadventures, part of a long-checkered life. He went into rehab in January, reportedly at home, after three hospitalizations in three months. The most recent was a brief hospital stay that followed a 911 call in which he was described as very intoxicated.

In the interview with Jones, Sheen had harsh words for Alcoholics Anonymous. He referred to it as a "bootleg cult" with a 5 percent success rate, compared to his own "100 percent" success rate.

One of the group's mottos, he said, is, "'Don't be special. Be one of us.' News flash: I am special and I will never be one of you."

When Jones told Sheen he sounded like Jefferson, Sheen dismissed the U.S. founding father with a rude insult.

"It may be lonely up here but I sure like the view, Alex," he said.

Sheen referred to himself as a new sheriff in town who has an "army of assassins."

"If you love with violence and you hate with violence, there's nothing that can be questioned," said Sheen, who played a soldier in the war film "Platoon."

Earlier this week, Martin Sheen compared his son's problems to "cancer" but said he was "doing well" after entering rehab following reported partying and a trip to the hospital for abdominal pain.

"We pray for him," Sheen said of his son on U.K.'s Sky News. "If he had cancer, how would you treat him?"

He added, "This disease of addiction is a form of cancer. You have to have an equal measure of concern and love and lift him up."

Watch the CBSNews.com report here:

[greenphrawgee]

I am seriously trying to get an idea to CBS. Consider adding Judd Nelson to the show to replace Charlie. The appeal of Charlie is that he is a "bad boy" so he needs to be replaced with another "bad boy". Just think about it.

[netjunkie1]

I'm sure Mr. Sheen doesn't mean to be a jerk, he just is...
He has millions, apparently several children from several of the beauty's of all time, and fun with some of the ******** women in all history...and during his busy life he rips on the producer which all his associates draw a living from as he claims sobriety while on a yacht with not one honey, but two....
The show should go on without him until he comes back to earth...but not canceled. That only admits it's Sheen that draws the audience...if that is the case then, Mr. Sheen must be looking for more money.

[voxpopulus]

Your dad is the one with the talent. And a lot more class than you.

[magnumdr]

Grow up Charlie. He is acting like a three year old crying and loking for attention. I think that he missed out on not enough spankings when he was a kid. Spoiled rich brat, get a real life, your over the hill dude!!!

[polystang]

Say what you want about charlie sheen, but in all honesty, he was the funniest person on that show.
To replace him with someone else is just going to barely prolong a show that was already starting to lose its humor.
Let it die in peace.

[1dryrun]

Thank you CBS for taking Charlie Sheen off the air. I should think that if you allow him to continue you should be liable when he kills himself or someone else. He needs help.

[rrozsa]

It would be so much better if they just replaced him with some other shllow, womanizing chauvinist. As I recall, "Three's Company" replaced Suzanne Sommers with another "bimbo" character, when she and the producers couldn't get along, and the series did just fine. By cancelling the whole show, they just send the mistaken message to everyone (including Charlie and to the show's fans) that the show is not worth producing without him. And that's bull. Everybody hates him. They would probably gain a lot of viewers, like me, who just don't watch the show because I dislike Charlie's character so much. He's just playing himself, which is a very dislikable character.

[brasileira2]

Charlie is an ungrateful, self-centered, cheap actor that had the luck to get the opportunity to be in this show.
I don't know why he gets all the credit for the success of the show, when the supporting actors are the only ones that truly did the acting.
I sure hope he is gone for good.

[rrozsa]

You wrote: "I sure hope he is gone for good."

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Me too, but I hate to see him take a lucrative show like that with him. I hope they won't let him come back next season and will use the time to cast someone else.

[scottstheone]

please KEEP the show and REPLACE Charlie Sheen. The show doesn't need him. He is VERY replaceable. It's not right to put others like great actor Jon Cryer out of work. Try Joe Hale to replace Charlie Sheen and send me my finders fee.

[Klaritee]

The lesson for all of us here, including Charlie and his cohorts, friends, family, and observers, alike, is GRATITUDE! When we choose to be ungrateful for the hand we are dealt, we face the repercussions that come with that lack of gratitude. Charlie is not in his clear mind. I wish him clarity, gratitude, and a leg to stand on. Farewell, my friend! I am excited to see who you turn up to be after this life! Hopefully a much more evolved and awakened being. I won't hold my breath. God is in charge!