The move to fire Sheen follows several weeks of highly public and vituperative battling by the actor against
In a letter to Sheen’s lawyer outlining its reasons for his dismissal,
charged that the actor’s “erratic behavior” undermined production and
said his tabloid lifestyle — which has included brushes with the law,
accusations of violence toward women including two of his former wives,
and hospital trips — has put him in breach of his contract.
Sheen’s “self-destructive conduct resulted in his
hospitalization, his inability to work at all for a period and the
rapid erosion of the cooperative and creative process necessary to
produce the show,” lawyers representing the studio said in its letter
to Sheen’s lawyer,
to say that Sheen’s admitted drug use and “furnishing of cocaine” to
others puts him in violation of his contract.
“There is ample evidence supporting
reasonable good faith opinion that Mr. Sheen has committed felony
offenses involving moral turpitude … that have interfered with his
ability to fully and completely render all material services required”
under his contract, noted the letter.
Neither Sheen’s manager nor lawyer responded to requests for comment.
“Two and a Half Men” has been in limbo since January when
put the show on hiatus while Sheen took a forced leave to attend a
rehabilitation facility. When Sheen opted to undergo rehab treatment at
home instead of at a facility,
and Lorre began to question if he was taking the process seriously,
according to the letter. Tensions then flared once the actor took to
radio and TV interviews proclaiming he was ready to return to work, a
view the network and studio did not share.
After Sheen disparaged Lorre,
in numerous interviews, the plug was pulled on the show for the
remainder of the season. Sheen then hired pit bull attorney Singer, who
threatened to sue
A few days later,
its own legal big gun — the firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson — which
was seen as a signal that Sheen was headed for a legal showdown.
Neither
would say if they would attempt to keep “Two and a Half Men” on the air
without Sheen. The part Sheen plays — his character, Charlie, is a
wealthy jingle writer who blows his money on girls and booze — could be
recast. But without its longtime star, the sitcom may not stay on the
top of the
“I think it would be difficult to replace
It is not impossible to replace the star of a show. Sheen himself once successfully replaced
For
the loss of the show would be a big financial blow. “Two and a Half
Men” anchors the network’s Monday night schedule and advertisers pay
more than
the air. Reruns of the show generate hundreds of millions of dollars
for the studio, and lost episodes mean lost revenue.
For years, Sheen’s personal life seemed to have no
impact on his ability to get work. Trips to rehab, messy divorces and
even testifying about his penchant for prostitutes during the trial of
and Lorre seem to be admitting that they were willing to overlook
Sheen’s various issues with the law and substance abuse to keep the
show going.
“While it was not anywhere close to an ideal working situation,
as well as Mr. Lorre continued to make accommodations for the
off-camera (yet very public) aspects of Mr. Sheen’s life,” the letter
said, adding “at each step,
That acknowledgement may give further fuel to
critics who contend that Sheen’s bosses were willing to look the other
way when he got into legal scrapes and was accused of violence toward
women, but only got tough when he started trashing them.
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(c) 2011, Los Angeles Times.
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