CBS Cancels The Rest Of "Two And A Half Men" Season
LOS ANGELES (CBS4) - CBS and Warner Bros. Television announced late Thursday that it is canceling the remaining episodes of the hit sitcom "Two and a Half Men" due to Charlie Sheen's recent erratic behavior.
The statement read: "Based on the totality of Charlie Sheen's statements, conduct and condition, CBS and Warner Bros. Television have decided to discontinue production of "Two and a Half Men" for the remainder of the season."
Thursday morning, gossip website TMZ posted a story laying out Sheen's incendiary remarks made on a radio talk show aimed toward series creator Chuck Lorre.
Sheen also made comments about his drug rehabilitation and took shots at organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous.
The show was scheduled to resume shooting on Tuesday after a brief hiatus to allow Sheen to seek help for his rumored drug and alcohol problems.
In his interview with Jones, Sheen repeatedly evoked violent images and ideas. He also derided Lorre in an attack that suggested 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."
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."
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