Video: In ‘Today’ interview, Charlie Sheen demands an apology and a raise from CBS

NEW YORK — In his first television interview since he began publicly ranting against CBS, Charlie Sheen took to NBC’s “Today” show to deliver yet another message to CBS: “They picked a fight with a warlock,” he said. And that warlock was angry: Speaking with NBC’s Jeff Rosen, he insisted that if CBS wanted him to return to “Two and a Half Men,” they’d have to give him a raise from roughly $2 million per episode to $3 million.

“I’m underpaid right now,” Sheen insisted. Then he
added, “I’m tired of pretending like I’m not special. I’m tired of
pretending like I’m not bitchin’, a total frickin’ rock star from Mars.”

Continuing what he has called his “war” with Chuck
Lorre, Sheen also pulled out a slip of paper during the interview and
read three questions for the executive producer: “Why is it when I was
ready to return to work you told me there were no scripts ready to
shoot?” he asked.

“Why is it you issued a decree informing me that the
remaining eight shows of Season 8 had been reduced down to four,
stating as well that Season 8, our highest-rated season to date … was
suddenly to halt production two weeks earlier than scheduled?”

“When you were told that the crew would suffer
greatly due to your dictatorial laziness, would you please explain what
you meant by your statement, ‘They are not my problem’?”

Though much of what he called his “violent hatred” was directed toward Lorre, he also saved some for CBS, which he claimed had put him through “psychological distress.” He demanded a public apology from the network, insisting that CBS should be “licking my feet.”

Once again, Sheen said he was sober, though he also
said he rejected the “fiction” of Alcoholics Anonymous and its “5
percent success rate,” preferring instead to treat himself at home. “I
close my eyes and make it so with the power of my mind,” he said.

Asked if he was worried about relapse, Sheen replied that relapse was only for “fools, trolls, weak, defeated.”

“They allowed defeat to be an option,” he said. “I will not.”

Check out videos from the interviews:

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