CBS and Warner Brothers Television halted production on Two and a Half Men for the remainder of the season after Charlie Sheen's latest radio rant, during which he attacked the show's creator, Chuck Lorre. INSIDE EDITION reports.
Charlie Sheen seems to be coming apart at the seams. The nation is left trying to comprehend how TV's highest paid actor could fall so far so quickly.
In a statement today, CBS said enough is enough: "Based on the totality of Charlie Sheen's conduct and condition, CBS and Warner Bros. Television have decided to discontinue production of 'Two and Half Men' for the remainder of the season."
"Warner Brothers and CBS really felt like they had no choice, they did not feel like this guy was ready to go back to work," says TV Guide's Steve Battaglio.
The decision came after Sheen called Chuck Lorre, the executive producer of Two and a Half Men, a "loser" and a "clown" in a scathing rant on a radio show. The language he used sounded to many like an anti-Semitic slur: "Chaim Levine, yeah that's Chuck's real name, uh, mistook this rock star for his own selfish exit strategy bro. I embarrassed him in front of his children and the world by healing at a pace that his unevolved mind cannot process."
Sheen then kept up his unhinged attack against one of TV's most respected creative minds, writing this shocking open letter:
"This contaminated little maggot can't handle my power, and can't handle the truth. I wish him nothing but pain in his silly travels, especially if they wind up in my octagon."
'Octagon' is a reference to an Ultimate Fighting Championship ring. In his letter, Sheen also said he's not anti-Semitic:
"Chuck's birth name is Charles Levine and Chaim is the Hebrew equivalent of the name Charles. So you're telling me, anytime someone calls me Carlos Estevez, I can claim they are anti-Latino?"
"Here's a guy who's the star of a hit show, the number one comedy in television, and he's making disparaging remarks about the people who sign his paychecks. It's almost unforgiveable," says Battaglio.
Incredibly, Sheen told a Good Morning America reporter over the phone that he's coming to work next week anyway.
In another sign of apparent delusion, Sheen sent a text message claiming HBO has made him a $50 million offer for a talk show. But today HBO told us they had never made him such an offer.
"There is absolutely no truth to that rumor," said an HBO spokesperson.
"For Charlie Sheen to really believe that he has some sort of HBO show that's going to save him and pay him a lot of money and in fact it's not the truth tells me clinically that this is a person who's not only in a manic phase but may be very delusional," psychologist Jeffrey Gardere tells INSIDE EDITION.
Now Sheen's upcoming role in a sequel to his hit movie Major League is in jeopardy. Said Major League producer James G. Robinson, CEO of Morgan Creek Productions, "If Charlie Sheen doesn't 'straighten up,' he will NOT star in the movie. I'm not going to risk putting Charlie in the movie if he continues messing up."
