Mel Gibson to Charlie Sheen: Thanks, pal, for making me look almost sane

I'm not saying that Mel Gibson is dancing in the streets today, but let's just say that if there were ever anyone who could made Mel look halfway normal, it would be Charlie Sheen--you know, the Charlie Sheen who refers to himself as a "high-priest Vatican assassin warlock." In Hollywood, you know you have real problems not only when your network dumps your hit show, as CBS has done in response to Sheen's latest crazy-man antics, but when Abe Foxman hits the media circuit, saying you're an anti-Semite.  

Sheen badmouthed "Two and a Half Men" co-creator Chuck Lorre, calling him a maggot, a clown and a charlatan, as well as repeatedly referring to him by his Jewish name, Chaim Levine. This prompted Foxman, who's the National Director of the Anti-Defamation League, to issue a statement saying: "By invoking television producer Chuck Lorre's Jewish name in the context of an angry tirade against him, Charlie Sheen left the impression that another reason for his dislike of Mr. Lorre is his Jewishness. This fact has no relevance to Mr. Sheen's complaint or disagreement, and his words are at best bizarre, and at worst, borderline anti-Semitism."

Sheen, for his part, told TMZ that he wasn't an anti-Semite, arguing that "I was referring to Chuck by his real name, because I wanted to address the man and not the [expletive] persona." Of course, Sheen also referred to Alcoholics Anonymous as a "bootleg cult," so it sounds like he had a lot of scores to settle. If the pope were as media savvy as Abe Foxman, he'd probably have something to say about Sheen's "Vatican assassin warlock" remark too. But the real lesson here is that when people get angry, as Sheen clearly is and as Gibson was before him, they reveal their true feelings, which are often pretty ugly.

Calling someone by their real name is hardly a defense, since back in the day, there were backward boxing fans who insisted on referring to Muhammad Ali by his original name, Cassius Clay, long after Ali had taken a new name to honor his Muslim religion. I'm sure they all had some excuse, but it was an impulse born out of racism and disrespect for Ali's religion, pure and simple. In that sense, Sheen sounds a lot like Gibson when he was ranting about Jews after his arrest for drunken driving--he's an angry man whose troubled mental state makes him a menace, not just to Chuck Lorre and all of his "Two and a Half Men" fans, but to himself.

In one of his crazed outbursts, right after he called Lorre a clown, Sheen said that he wasn't an addict anymore, claiming "the only thing I'm addicted to right now is winning." But actually it sounds like what's really addicted to is losing, not just losing his mind and his career, but whatever self-respect he might have had before he turned himself into the biggest clown in all of show business.

--Patrick Goldstein

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Photo: Charlie Sheen photographed in Los Angeles in 2009. Credit: Chris Pizzello / Associated Press

 

Comments

[Jill]

Hopefully Charlie Sheen will just fade away now...that would be a happy ending.

[sallie]

Sheen seems not only severely delusional, but judging from the picture he needs a new wig.

[Phoenix]

Sheen was supposedly referring back to one of Lorre's vanity cards in which Lorre talked about how he got to where he is now from his origins as Chaim Levine, questioning why he decided to make this new identity for himself with a new name. So he's supposedly addressing the real man rather than the 'showbiz phoney' persona he's built. Which would be fine up to a point, but Sheen was clearly so addled that he forgot he has a fake showbiz name too...

[Della Orten]

Charlie should be sent to rehab for each of his addictions consecutively. He can still do some freelance work from rehab. Alan and Jake get the run of the house and Allan gets temporary authority to run the household affairs and pay the bills aided by Rose. The one condtion is Berta keeps her job. Judith and Herb separate and Herb moves in with Alan. The only time Charlie is mentioned is unseen using phone calls to communicate. Herb looks after his daughter on weekends at Charlies house. Alan doesn't revert to ventriliquism (was a weird storyline) and Jake does all the usual teen behaviour. Alan's girlfriend and her son still live there as her house isn't rebuilt yet. Berta and her sometimes butt heads and sometimes agree against Alan. Alan moves into the master bedroom and Herb gets the spare room. Rose is also a go between for Charlie and Alan. Herb's life can be more explored while he lives at the beach and looks after his daughter as Jake was looked after in the beginning.

The show can go on. Charlie Sheen doesn't have to work, and the show is still called Two and a Half Men.

[Tara]

Why do people care so much on what Charlie Sheen says, if a TV show is on or not, the freaking world is falling apart, we have a crisis in most every city on the planet, we have people loosing jobs, homes family members in wars
food shortages, natural disasters and people are concentrating on this nonsense??? Are people that ignorant, self absorbed, nosey or just dumb?

TV should dis-appear and so should the movie industry, then maybe people will concentrate on repairing there families, communities, themselves, and learn what is important in life....

[ZeeNu2]

So calling "Chuck Lorre" by his real name, Chaim Levine, is disrespectful of "Chuck's" new religion? Which is what? Greed?

[ZeeNu2]

This article would seem less like a personal rebuttal and more objective with a different author. The Cassius Clay argument is flawed. And why is Charles "Chaim" Levine so ashamed of being a Jew that he hides behind some ridiculous goyim moniker? Adopting Peter Lorre's last name? Please! The only reason someone would abandon their given name in this context is under the belief that he could make more money with an alias. Putting money before faith, religion and cultural pride and responsibility. Sounds like Hollywood to me. If Mr. "Lorre" now dons a yarmulke, it will only be because he stands to profit personally from doing so.

[Puck]

Now we know. Charlie was the half man in the title.

[alextron]

I think Charlie Sheen has a point.
Go Charlie go!

[Sonja Stahlhut]

I like the story line posted by Della Orten. That would make me start watching again. The current season has been same old same old, just like Charlie himself so after one or two shows I turned it off after watching for years.