Charlie Sheen Says He's 'Free at Last' After 'Two and a Half Men' Firing
Warner Bros. letter on firing describes "erratic" star in a personal tailspin.
March 8, 2011 -- Charlie Sheen's taking his firing from TV's No. 1 comedy as another feather in his cap.
On Monday, Sheen was axed from "Two and a Half Men" for "escalating erratic conduct," according to a letter written by Warner Bros. lawyers authenticated by ABCNews.com. True to his recent unpredictable behavior, Sheen appeared to be overjoyed by the news.
A video posted on TMZ.com Monday evening showed the actor atop a building, waving a machete to a cheering crowd and drinking from a bottle that Sheen said contained "tiger blood."
"I'm free at last," he declared in the video.
Earlier Monday, Sheen reacted to his job loss in a statement to TMZ.com:
"This is very good news," he said. "They continue to be in breach, like so many whales. It is a big day of gladness at the Sober Valley Lodge because now I can take all of the bazillions, never have to look at [expletive] again and I never have to put on those silly shirts for as long as this warlock exists in the terrestrial dimension."
Some of the insults in Sheen's statement were presumably meant for Chuck Lorre, "Two and a Half Men's" creator, with whom he has feuded publicly in recent weeks. His statement came minutes after Warner Bros. fired him.
"After careful consideration, Warner Bros. Television has terminated Charlie Sheen's services on 'Two and a Half Men' effective immediately," Warner Bros. said in a statement.
CBS, the network that airs "Two and a Half Men," declined to comment.
While Sheen's "Two and a Half Men" character is dead for now, he briefly came back to life Monday night in a dream sequence on the Fox show "House."
After being taken to the hospital, Dr. House's girlfriend dreams about what would happen to her daughter if she died.
The dream turns into a nightmare when House, played by Hugh Laurie, becomes a character similar to "Two and a Half Men" playboy/Sheen's character Charlie Harper. House dons one of the character's trademark bowling shirts and, when his girlfriend's daughter gets caught stealing, tells her that he'll help her avoid trouble by teaching her not to get caught.
The show aired hours after lawyers for Warner Bros. Television sent an 11-page letter to Martin Singer, the lawyer who has been handling Sheen's battle with CBS and Warner Bros.
"At the outset, let us state the obvious," began the letter, signed by John W. Spiegel on behalf of Warner Bros. "Your client has been engaged in dangerously self-destructive conduct and appears to be very ill."
The letter described how Sheen rebuffed efforts by people affiliated with "Two and a Half Men" to get him help for addiction and personal issues affecting the show's production, and instead publicly lashed out at the show and its producers.
"They're making two broad arguments here," ABC News legal analyst Dan Abrams said. "One is, in effect, that he could no longer perform the duties that he had to perform in the context of the show and number two, that his words and his actions have actually led him to default the contract."
Singer did not immediately respond to ABCNews.com's requests for comment, although he told People magazine the firing was "absurd and ridiculous" retaliation for Sheen's public attacks on Lorre.
Since 2003, Sheen had starred in "Two and a Half Men" as Charlie Harper, a perpetual bad boy who mimicked Sheen's real-life persona. Last year, Sheen reportedly inked a deal to make $2 million per episode.
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"Two and a Half Men" went on hiatus in January following Sheen's hospitalization and return to rehab. Sheen has publicly slammed Lorre, Warner Bros. and CBS in a series of recent interviews, claiming he's ready to return to work and would sue for being barred from the show.
According to Spiegel's letter on behalf of Warner Bros., Singer sent the studio "eight pages of diatribe and threats of litigation" on behalf of Sheen.
"Your letters paint a picture of Mr. Sheen's condition and conduct that has no connection to reality," Spiegel wrote. "Let us set the record straight."
Sheen's "inability to perform the essential duties of his position," Spiegel added, "included Mr. Sheen's physical appearance, inability to deliver lines, inability to collaborate creatively with staff and crew, inability to work with the executive producers, inflammatory comments poisoning key working relationships, and frustration of the show's creative environment by the public spectacle of his self-inflicted disintigration."
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Sources connected to Sheen told TMZ.com that the actor's contract has a "Michael J. Fox" clause, which allow him get his salary even if he's no longer on the show.
TMZ's sources claim the clause is same as when Fox was starring in the show "Spin City" and his contract said he would get paid as long as the show continued to be produced, whether he was still on or off the sitcom.
Since CBS and Warner Bros. canceled the remainder of "Two and a Half Men's" season, Sheen has been everywhere, coining catchphrases in TV sit-downs ("winning," "tiger blood," "Adonis DNA"), tweeting about his philosophies and live-streaming his life online.
Over the weekend, Sheen launched a Web show on Ustream called "Sheen's Korner," a 50-minute homespun takeoff on a baseball post-game show. Though Sheen amassed 1 million followers on Twitter in 24 hours, his online show only drew in 150,000 viewers at its peak.
Still, Sheen spent much of the show touting his pop culture prowess.
"It has caught on like an absolute global wildfire," Sheen said of his catchphrases and public interest in his life.
With no regular show to shoot, Sheen seems to be focused on building his online brand -- as one of Ad.ly's celebrity tweeters, he could make $1 million a year with sponsored tweets.
On Monday afternoon, Sheen tweeted a job opening for an intern:
"I'm looking to hire a #winning INTERN with #TigerBlood. Apply here -- http://bit.ly/hykQQF #TigerBloodIntern #internship #ad"