Did Charlie Sheen just commit 'career suicide'?
After the "Two and a Half Men" star's rant on talk radio, will anyone employ him again?
Charlie Sheen's career has been littered with domestic violence raps, cocaine binges, and romps with prostitutes — yet the "Two and a Half Men" star has managed to become TV's highest-paid actor. But now, a vicious rant on talk radio is being called his final act of "career suicide." In a "vitriolic" call with radio host Alex Jones, Sheen repeatedly referred to his "Two and a Half Men" boss Chuck Lorre as "Chaim Levine," and challenged him to a fight. (Listen to the call below.) The actor also made semi-coherent references to ninja assassins and Thomas Jefferson. CBS immediately shut down production on Sheen's hit show, fueling speculation that he has lost the lucrative role for good. Is this the end for Sheen?
He is finished: Sheen just gave us a textbook primer on "how to spectacularly end a career in showbiz," says Glen Levy at TIME. In a Mel Gibson-esque move, he made his bad behavior worse by peppering his rant with "elements of anti-semitism." Sheen seems to think he can get by without Lorre, or his network. He should look foward to "spending a lot more time by himself."
"After Charlie Sheen's rant, CBS pulls plug on 'Two and a Half Men'"
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Sheen has come back before: Despite "publicly losing a battle against substance abuse for over a decade now," says Katey Rich at Cinema Blend, Sheen is still the highest-paid actor on TV. Yes, he burned his bridges with CBS, but given his popularity with American audiences, the industry will continue to prop him up. Never "underestimate Sheen's bizarre ability to come back from the grave."
He could have a future as a political pundit! Alex Jones, the radio host Sheen called, is a libertarian conspiracist with theories about everyone from Justin Bieber to Glenn Beck, says Frances Martel at Mediaite. But Sheen made him seem like the sane one. All of which begs the question, "is Sheen trying to position himself as a political commentator?" It's not the standard "path to punditry" — but what is?
"Is the Charlie Sheen crazy train about to crash into the world of political punditry?"
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