Charlie Sheen's Rant Moves to the Courts

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright March 10, 2011
All Rights Reserved.                               

              Filing suit for $100 million against CBS, Warner Bros. Television and his producer and show creator Charles Lorre, 45-year-old actor Charlie Sheen transformed his role from getting mad into getting even, promising to take the network to the cleaners.  Since suspending CBS’s “Two and a Half Men” Feb. 24, Charlie has been on a nonstop rant, blasting Lorre and CBS for a variety of infractions, including harassing him for all 177 shows.  Launched Sept. 22, 2003, “Two and a Half Men” has been one of CBS’ all-time most successful sitcoms, winning four Primetime Emmy Awards and landing numerous Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actor Guild nominations during its eight-year run.  When CBS suspended the show Feb. 24, it wasn’t for Sheen’s past drug or domestic abuse problems but for his racially-tinged racial tirades, calling his producer “Chaim Levine,” a reference to his former Jewish name.

            Suspending the show raised questions of whether or not the network could go ahead without Sheen, perhaps replacing him with some yet-to-be-named talent.  When CBS and Warner Bros. TV finally terminated Sheen March 7, citing “moral turpitude,” Sheen instructed his chief lawyers Martin D. Singer to file suit in Los Angeles Superior Court for breach of contract.  Before CBS suspended the show Feb. 24, Sheen said he was willing to keep working, promising to show up and resume shooting on the Monday after the suspension.  When CBS announced there’d be no further shooting, Sheen went ballistic, hurling insults at Lorre and the network ever since.  Network executives at CBS and Warner Bros. claim that Sheen was terminated March 17 for “moral turpitude,” citing numerous examples of substance abuse, malicious mischief and domestic abuse, prompting the termination.

            Sheen’s lawyer claims that Sheen was suspended and terminated for making indelicate statements about Lorre, especially making fun of his original Jewish-sounding name.  When Sheen took a leave of absence from “Two and a Half Men” in Feb. 2010, network executives didn’t threaten to terminate his contract.  He resumed shooting Season 7 March 16, 2010. Sheen married his girlfriend Brook Mueller May 30, 2008, had two boys and was accused in 2009 of domestic battery.  Sheen pleaded guilty to domestic battery Aug. 2, 2009 and was sentenced to 30 days of rehab, 30 days probation and 36 days of anger management classes. On Oct. 26, 2010, Sheen was removed from New York’s Plaza Hotel after a drunken drug-filled binge, causing $7.000 damages.  Sheen was hospitalized Jan. 27, 2011 at Cedar Sinai Medical Center for “abdominal pain” and released into rehab.  

            Filing suit for $100 million, Sheen’s lawyer accused Lorre of an “egotistical desire to punish Mr. Sheen,” rejecting CBS and Warner Bros. excused of terminating Sheen for “moral turpitude.”  With all of Sheen’s foibles during all eight years of “Two and a Half Men,” network executives are hard-pressed to explain why they didn’t terminate Sheen sooner.  Calling Lorre “the proverbial 800-pound gorilla,” Sheen’s lawyers attribute his firing to personal animus, not Sheen’s past history of erratic behavior.  Making disparaging remarks about Lorre doesn’t help Sheen’s breach of contract suit that hinges purely on whether or not Sheen was ready and willing to continue working.  When CBS and Warner Bros. decided to terminate Sheen’s contract it had more to do with insubordination than whether the 45-year-old actor was capable of doing his job..

            Sheen’s breach of contract suit is small potatoes compared with other disasters caused by Hollywood executives   When Disney CEO Michael D. Eisner called Jeffrey Katzenberg “a little midget” and refused to advance him to studio president, Katzenberg sued and won $500 million judgment Jul. 7, 1999.  It showed how legendary Hollywood ego-trips and narcissism hurt shareholders.  Lorre’s spat with Sheen shouldn’t interfere with the very lucrative franchise known as “Two and a Half Men.”  CBS President Les Moonves showed Sheen it didn’t matter how much profit popular star made the network on “Two and a Half Men.”  While it’s true that Charlie’s success made the network millions, it’s also true that humiliating publicly traded corporations carry serious repercussions.  Once Sheen started with the racial slurs, the network had few options other than termination.

            Sheen’s ballistic behavior warranted stern action by the network, including terminating the star’s top-rated sitcom.  No publicly held company can allow its employees to spew racial or anti-Semitic remarks without consequences.  Sheen deserved what he got but, at the same time, the network’s going to have a tough time in court arguing that Sheen was terminated with cause for “moral turpitude.”  Network executives knew for years that Sheen was erratic but made a calculated business decision to retain his services because of the show’s success.  Network executives have a right to terminate Sheen’s contract but not without invoking a breach of contract.  Tolerating Sheen’s public fits for years makes the network guilty of complicity.  Terminating Sheen for cause now makes no sense other than retaliation.  Whether network executive like Sheen or not, they’ll now have to pony up.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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