CBS chief admits ‘high level of concern’ over Charlie Sheen’s troubles

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The entertainment chief of CBS admits that the latest antics from troubled ‘Two and a Half Men’ star Charlie Sheen are causing headaches at the network.

‘I have a high level of concern,’ Nina Tassler told reporters Friday morning at the TV press tour in Pasadena. ‘How could I not? ... This man is a father; he’s got children.’

Sheen was recently in the headlines again after reports that he went on a bender with porn stars in Las Vegas. The actor has been in and out of rehab since he was charged in a domestic violence case against his now-estranged wife in December 2009. Last fall, he reportedly went on a rampage in his hotel room in New York.

Tassler’s comments went somewhat further than she or other network executives have previously been willing to go and is the closest CBS has come to publicly chiding the star of its No. 1 comedy.

But she added that the circumstances surrounding Sheen are ‘complicated.’

‘You can’t look at it simplistically,’ Tassler said. ‘Charlie is a professional. He comes to work, he does his job extremely well ... The show is a hit.’

When a reporter asked whether Sheen’s continuing escapades were having an impact on the show, Tassler replied: ‘Things are continuing as planned.’

-- Scott Collins (Twitter: @scottcollinsLAT)

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