The Charlie Sheen media blitz continues today. Sheen's run-ins with the law and drug addiction have been well-documented throughout the past year, but the latest string of headlines stems from CBS's cancellation of his top-rated sitcom, Two and a Half Men, prompting Sheen to call the show's producer Chuck Lorre "a maggot" on a radio interview.
This morning, the sage continued. In an exclusive interview with The Today Show, Sheen told NBC correspondent Jeff Rossen, "I'm tired of pretending I'm not […] a total freaking rock star from Mars...You can't process me with a normal brain." After stating that he has "tiger blood and Adonis DNA," he addressed his conflict with CBS over Two and a Half Men: "Everybody thinks I should be begging for my job back. And I'm just going to forewarn them that it's everyone else who's going to be begging me for their job back...Come Wednesday morning, they're going to rename it Charlie Bros., not Warner Bros." He went on to tell Rossen how he overcame addiction: "I closed my eyes and made it so with the power of my mind. I had to unload 22 years of fiction and just decided I don't believe that anymore." He also disparaged Alcoholics Anonymous, calling its program "fiction." He also referred to himself as a “warlock.”
Just a few hours after the Today Show interview, reports emerged that Sheen had retired from acting and checked into rehab. But, his long-time publicist Stan Rosenfield quickly shot down those reports. Just to prove he was, in fact, not in rehab, Sheen allowed TMZ cameras in his own California backyard for another bizarre interview streamed live online.
Among the highlights of the later Q&A: references to his children's whereabouts ("They're in there... somewhere. Everyone here parents the kids. They're running into walls, but they're screaming 'dada' when they're doing it"), his preference for an interview location ("I want to be interviewed by Nick Swisher in Yankee Stadium because that's an arena I'm going to win in"), his detractors ("These insults are the rocket fuel that lives in the tip of my sabre") and his own mental capacities ("Every plan I have is the best plan in the room. Everybody get quiet and listen to it, and everybody will win").
Soon after the TMZ stream, Rosenfield announced that he had quit as Sheen's publicist, saying "I'm unable to work effectively as his publicist."
It's only Monday, people.
— By Pete Tosiello
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Can't take another story on Charlie! I'll leave the room or change the channel for this one. Love The Last Word and you Lawrence, but enough is enough and this guy doesn't deserve the press. Guess MSNBC has to get it's money's worth for the original interview?
For cryin' out loud! Someone tell him about "Passages of Malibu." Not AA, individual treatment and supposedly works by finding out "why" you have turned to addiction.
I'm sure he knows about "Passages," after all, he is the king of Malibu as well as being a warlock. Denial and mental illness are sad things, but I think I'll save my tears for people in the world who are more worthy of sympathy.
If he is sick, which I believe he is, why make such a spectacle of him on your show? It's as tasteless as mocking someone with a physical deformity.
Completely agree with you. All the networks are doing it, and it's just wrong. This guy clearly is not in control of himself right now. Sad and wrong.
I agree, this was cruel. The interview was not sad but instead it is the state of the media that is disappointing. Taking time to stab a man when he is down is clearly a low blow. Charley is clearly fighting for his life and family at this time and the media provoking him when he is most vulnerable does not get my support. His state is not what happens to anyone who drinks, it is what happens when the studio he has made billions for turns on him as well as the national media including shows that I respect like the last word. I suspect this is all push back for Charlie's courage to speak out about his political ideas last year.
The Today Show? Sure. The Last Word? Didn't something important happen today? Who cares about Sheen! Keith wouldn't have wasted his time...or mine.
I am with Charlie on this one!!!! The suits at Comcast can't change my mind on this one with their controlled media!!!!
If you've ever had a brother or friend suffering from this level of addiction, you recognize the wet brain, the compromised mental state that this poor guy is in. I feel most for his family (been there) and for him because he's on track for destruction, and it sounds so familiar...probably sooner than later. Too bad he is such a celebrity because he gets to self-destruct publicly. Yeah...his family is really hurting now, watching someone they love implode.
Yeah, he's imploding all the way to the bank, with a bottle of Dom Rose...
Agree. I feel for his family; I've been there, too. Why is MSNBC participating in this?
It's not "Entertainment Tonight."
Charlie has gone wack-a-do. The real victims in this story are his five poor children.
Yeah, how they suffer...
I don't understand this is so controversial. The man is entitled to behave anyway which he wants, so long as he isn't breaking any laws or impacting his co-stars negatively. He claimed the producers and writers were cramping his style; and according to their reaction, he's telling the truth! Charlie Sheen and Charlie Harper are inseparable; he lives parallel lives both on and off-screen. neither denying it nor endorsing Hollywoods' typical hypocritical behavior by acting a saint in his day-to-day existence. Like him or not, Sheen is honest, happy and it's nobody's business but his own how or why he does his thing.
I was wondering if The Last Word would have portrayed the same sympathetic story if this had been someone like Rush Limbaugh. Wait he did battle addiction and most people though it was funny and still make fun of it to this day. It would be nice if I believed the media really cared about the human condition and not just their friends. I hope Charlie can get his act together for his sake and his Children's. I also wish all forms of the media actually cared about the stories the told and not the agenda they wish to deliver.
Lawrence you didn't sell me on your intro to the Charlie Sheen clip. He sounded pretty sane to me and quite engaging I might add. Your intro was a bit leading and harsh, Lawrence. Cut the guy some slack, friend. I believe you are compassionate and that's why I like you. Charlie is working through his demons and because he is a public figure he is more exposed than most would be in similar circumstances. He has a right to do what he likes with his life.
Charlie Sheen and all others in show business need to sit down and watch the movie 'Inside Daisy Clover' as it depicts quite graphically that no one is indispensable....especially in show business - get your nose out of joint and they will find someone to take your place in a heartbeat.... it's just a shame that CBS did not take this step sooner.... his public embarrassments and rantings should never have been allowed to go on so long without consequences...he is not worth the negative publicity....
I have read the comments, and I am surprised that no psychiatrist offered and opinion. I suppose it is the Goldwater effect. However, as a result of interviewing Charlie Sheen via your program on The Last Word, I feel fully qualified to render an opinion. Mr. Sheen is clearly showing all the key symptoms of a Manic-depressive psychosis with racing thoughts, pressured speech, hyperactivity, and his obvious delusional grandiosity. His statement in the local news is conclusive: "I am not on drugs. I am on myself." He fully demonstrates the diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder, Manic episode. His drug and alcohol abuse is simply his self-treatment of his condition, a condition common upon actors and politician, re Doris Duke. He should not to be scourged, but receive treatment which is very effective.
I agree that your intro to the interview to the Sheen clip on the Today Show was unfair and bought into generalizations about addicts that are not true. The sneering attitude and skepticism of the Today Show interviewer only fed that. Although he comes across in an arrogant way, the things Sheen said, particularly in the beginning of the interview, about his recovery were sensible and logical. He said in a previous interview that he's had difficulty with "AA nazis" on the show, and if he's had the 12 steps forced upon him on the step and at the many rehabs he's attended, he has every right to feel the way he does. He's correct that AA works for the minority of people with substance abuse problems. Actually, more people recover on their own (without any support group) than with the 12 steps. But there are many other routes to recovery: SMART Recovery, Women for Sobriety, Secular Organizations for Sobriety, individual therapy, non-12-step treatment programs.
Noticed he said he was "bored with cocaine". That's because he's smoking Ice. Don't know what that is?...Its becoming an epidemic amoung successful men between the ages of 35-50. It can be out of your system in 3 days, making it easy to pass drug tests. Its symptoms are: greying skin, in-grown hair-like sores, hair falling out, erectile disfunction, eyes bugging out all the time, narcisstic behavior and decreased concern and compassion for people in their lives. Its easy to manufacture, super cheap and easy to hide. I urge everyone to educate themselves about this destructive drug.
Well, I for one, think Charlie needs a drink!
You think I'm kidding right? I am not! There are some people who just are no good sober. They just don't function well. They are either bland, boring, ...or as in Charlie's case, a raving narcissist.
That's right. I do know people who didn't function well on drugs and alcohol and got their lives back when they were sober. But I've also met people that I knew should have stayed drunk...or under the influence-which ever they prefer.
You know those kind. The one's that go on and on about some quote from AA….or in Charlie's case-a raving narcissist.
I will buy that poor man a drink.....quick. Before he does another interview. Then we can go back to watching great episodes of "Two and a Half Men".
I'm serious. He's probably in reality a terrible actor. He's already painful to watch. I'm mesmerized by him on Two and a Half Men. I'm pained to watch him now. What was laughter has turned pain-sheer pain.
Charlie, have a drink....please?
"Unraveling" is right. Why are you bothering to air this? It's personal tragedy, not news. There are vital issues at stake for American working people. Please do your jobs and cover these, instead of providing "infotainment" that is not worthy of your network.
And kids, take a look! this is you brains on drugs! Oh please Charlie you are a waste just look at you. I doubt that anyone feels the least bit sad for you as a human being, I mean you are an "adult" who made the decision to destroy your life with booze and drug addiction, right? let's feel sad for people who actually are serious of overcoming their addiction, not for losers that lack the appreciation of life.
thank you MSNBC for airing that clip and showing the world what happens to your brain on drugs.
Mr. Lawrence O'Donnell - Sir: First, thank you for your edifying one-hour gift to "me brain" - 5 nights per week. Keith who?
Next, I really like Mr. Sheen's spirit. He may do a "face-plant" crash and burn - but, I'm not so sure about that. The guy has a sense of humor and irony that resonates with mine - and his recent demonstration of pure "supreme-level" self-confidence is about what I bet is necessarily going on in the thought process preceding any championship MMA bout...
I love the guy. I enjoy his work. I'm betting [hoping] he won't hurt himself. And who else even sounds close to being as properly sure of his proven skill set?
Come 'on CBS. He's a winning race horse who speaks. What did you think He was going to be saying?
I am not a Charlie Sheen fan (nor am I a hater). I certainly do not follow all the details of his life. I found it regrettable that the Last Word seemed so eager to dismiss his comments on AA and alcoholism as some kind of sheer lunacy. It was poor journalism in my opinion and devoid of empathy. Alcoholics Anonymous is not for everyone. Specifically it is not for agnostics and atheists. What I sensed in Charlie Sheen's words was some of the same resentment that I have felt. Here is this great support group to help people combat alcohol addiction. But there is a catch to it. One of the very first things you have to do in the AA program is admit that you are powerless to control your situation and 'turn yourself over to a higher power'. What if you don't believe in a higher power? Well go to hell, you're on your own. (Or, 'Well, sorry we can't help you then.') How can atheists and agnostics not resent that? What I see is a co-dependent relationship between alcoholism and religion. "We'll call it a disease and then we will pretend like we are the only ones who can heal you. You get to say you have a 'disease', thus absolving you from much of the personal responsibility you have failed with, and we will have an avenue to new recruits and a claim to miracle healing."
Call it what it is: a physical addiction to alcohol developed over a period of time by people who chose a poor coping mechanism for life's travails and who also had a genetic predisposition to physical addiction of ethanol. Calling it a 'disease' is just a construct. Is it really more of a disease than compulsive eating, or impulsive purchasing? Is it more of a disease than Biblical literalism is a form of mental illness? If an adult believes in Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny, we call them insane or mentally ill. But if they believe the Earth is 6,000 years old and dinosaur fossils were just planted there by God to test our faith, then that is well within the confines of normality. That is a double standard.
When I was ready to confront my own alcoholism, the only way AA could help me was in the form of reverse psychology. "I'm powerless to control my situation? I can only beat this if I am willing to believe in God? Really? REALLY?!?! That's bull@!$%# and I'll prove it!" That was six-and-a-half years ago. I avoided the liquor isle of stores and the temptation that went with it for a couple of years. There is no temptation anymore. I can walk into a bar, buy wine to give as gifts, hang out with drunken friends...it doesn't matter anymore. My resolve not to drink again is a hundred times stronger than any temptation I might feel. Some of us don't need 'God' to beat alcoholism, we just need to summon the will and put our faith in ourselves. For me it really was like flipping a switch, albeit one that took a while to find and took some effort to pull.
I refuse to call myself a 'recovering alcoholic' because that is the term pushed by all the people who like to label it a 'disease'. I come up empty when I try to think of any other disease that I don't have to take any medication for and that can't hurt me in any way, shape, or form unless I allow it to. I am responsible for my own actions and I have more control over my alcoholism than I do over most anything else in life. I consider myself a 'non-practicing alcoholic'. If others want to say that's nothing more than semantics, that is fine by me, I don't care. It makes a difference to me. Recovering from what? I made a choice over six years ago to stop making the wrong choice and that's that.
From that angle, Charlie, I've got your back. But stick with sparkling water or juice in your celebrations and toasts. Not drinking at all can be easy. Drinking in moderation once you develop a physical addiction... that would be obscenely difficult even if you have willpower that is one in a billion.
I am so happy for you to have found a path to sobriety. I think it's far more important to find that path than it is to call that path by any particular name. Statistics have shown that AA "works" only as well as any other abstinence-based program. It simply happens to be the one with the most name recognition.
I would like to note, however, that one of the best indicators of integrity in a program is that it never disparages another while promoting itself. If your path is so great, why not just let it stand on it's merits instead of needing to speak ill of the path of others?
AA doesn't talk badly about you, believe me. They're just happy you found a solution.
Sheen was manic. There is medicine for that. He might want to explore it more one day. I expect he has given it a shot. Having gone to hundreds of AA meetings and having stopped going to AA "cold turkey" six years ago, after I realized the more I went, the more messed up in the head I was getting, I have an opinion. I realized that the more I went to AA meetings, the more messed up in the head I was getting. AA is an evil cult that does more harm than good. Having worked the steps endlessly, once I was prescribed medicine that I still take for my bi-polar mental health issues, most of those issues that seemed to demand all that twelve step work simply lost their power. When I shared that at meetings, I was not received warmly. The sad fact is that AA preys on poor slobs with mental illnesses in an age when there is more than adequate medication. AA one day will either go the way of cult religions to survive, or fade away like Rotary meetings of the generation in front of me that is about to fall of the cliff.
Wow, that was said very well. I personally do not like AA. I find that people on AA are very stressed out and very unhappy. Probably most alcoolics are suffering from a chemical imbalance and are trying to self medicate to provide some relief. I've always found the "psychology" method to be rediculous in most situations. Most everything about us has some chemistry make up behind it. Compulsive people, dare devils, alcoholics, people who fall in love too easily-all stem from body chemistry and brain make up.
I think that it's great you were able to get some help. AA is a cult and they believe everyone should not drink or take a drug-and that's just absurd. We are not all on a level playing field. If someone is bi-polar, they are much better off getting medication to stabalize-rather than go through the denial that AA involves.
Would the MSM be putting an actor who was in denial of cancer all over the their programs? Pray for the man.
Yes, that is what we should all be doing, the man is very sick.
I don't think praying is going to do much good. He obviously needs medication and is in complete mania. BUT, I must remind everyone that just because one is manic, does not mean they are ill spirited too. I've been manic. But I'm a nice person and so when I'm manic...I'm just a nice manic person.
Charlie is an ass. That's why he's being routed through all the news shows. I don't care if he is bi-polar, that is no reason to be so narcissistic and nasty. That's something in his personality. This is who he thinks he is. He thinks he's the greatest thing on earth. That's not the manic in him. That's Charlie.
I know of a few people who have been manic and even smoked crystal meth. Yes, they were manic and felt like they could do a lot of things-but they weren't nasty and in love with themselves.
Yes, he's funny on the show. But there are a lot of funny actors. He's not so great that he can't be a bit more humble. I for one, am glad that because of his mania, he's letting it all come out. Mania just makes you more intense-it does not make someone and ass.
Please dear God, no more Charlie Sheen stories!!!!
No one gives a damn!
What I'd like to know is what place does a story such as this have on a show/network supposedly the 'place for politics'? Leave it to TMZ or Entertainment Tonight, or better yet, to he and his friends and family. Pathetic ratings ploy, and very disappointing. I certainly hope this is the last, as it is not my favorite hour any longer as it is.