TNC posts about the latest Charlie Sheen blowup and I think he gets it wrong regarding money and Charlie Sheen.
I will not claim causation, but I will say that there is a strong and avid correlation between bigotry and stupid. Two And A Half Men is the show that no one I know watches–which is to say a hell of a lot of people. It guaranteed, for Sheen, a perpetual payday on a major network. Sheen is known for his racist rants, but even getting coked-up and randomly shouting “nigger!” in a high-end restaurant wasn’t enough to jeopardize his career. So I guess he had to take it up a notch.
It’s amazing how little money and fame change people. You are who you are and money only multiplies it. Cash will only make you smarter, if you were interested in being smarter in the first place. I give it five years before we see this dude mud-wrestling with NeNe on Celebrity Weight-Loss Challenge.
via Especially the Blacks and the Jews – Culture – The Atlantic
It’s not really that amazing. What was Sheen being paid for?
Through “Two and a Half Men”, CBS, Warner Bros. and Creator Chuck Lorre rewarded Sheen for his off set behavior from the show’s inception. The character he plays, a sexist, drug abusing, carousing, alcoholic, prostitute hiring ne’er do well bachelor was “built around” Sheen. Around, because Sheen, unlike his character, also was accused of domestic abuse (physical and verbal) by girlfriends, ex-wives and porn actress/escorts.
After the all types of incidents, an unhealthy Sheen prone to sexist and racist rants, was given a healthy raise. What about that says: stop doing what you are doing, it’s screwing up your life? CBS and Lorre were happy to have a train wreck inside their studios as long as they could syndicate a milquetoast version of the carnage.
The folks at CBS and Warner Bros. aren’t the only ones who, until recently, had no problem with Charlie Sheen being Charlie Sheen. Because of millions of viewers every week, “Two and a Half Men” was a top show on prime time TV and is the top rated show in syndication. This guarantees Sheen a payday through 2021. I don’t even think this includes international broadcasting where in some countries, the show is named what translates to “My Uncle Charlie” or “My Cool Uncle Charlie”. People watch it, even if none of them knows Coates. It’s not just the viewing public either, talent and staff associated with the show have been nominated and won awards sponsored by their fans, peers and critics for work in front of and behind the camera.
Lorre, CBS and Warner Bros. reacted to Sheen’s personal and professional attacks against them, but they accommodated Sheen’s often illegal behavior elsewhere. Lorre’s petty and childish use of his trademark vanity cards to belittle Sheen make him seem like someone who naively expected to enjoy Charlie Harper without ever suffering Charlie Sheen.