Charlie Sheen filed a lawsuit on Thursday seeking US$100 million from Warner Brothers and the producers of Two and a Half Men for sacking him from the hit TV show.
Lawyers for the star claim Sheen’s contract was breached by his dismissal in the wake of a string of media outbursts by the actor attacking the show’s producer Chuck Lorre.
Sheen is also seeking compensation for the rest of the cast and crew of the top-rating TV series, the future of which is in doubt after the sacking of its main star.
Photo: EPA
“Chuck Lorre, one of the richest men in television who is worth hundreds of millions of [US] dollars, believes himself to be so wealthy and powerful that he can unilaterally decide to take money away from the [show’s] dedicated cast and crew,” said the lawsuit, published by the TMZ celebrity news Web site.
It alleged that Lorre’s decision to suspend the show and sack Sheen was due to “serve his own ego and self-interest, and make the star of the Series the scapegoat for Lorre’s own conduct.”
“Charlie Sheen is not only seeking payment of his own compensation for the series. He is also pursuing claims for the benefit of the entire cast and crew to get paid for the balance of the season’s 24 episodes,” it added.
The legal action came after Warner Brothers sacked Sheen on Monday, citing the 45-year-old’s “dangerously self-destructive conduct.”
In related news, Sheen and his estranged wife have struck an accord that settles any custody issues and ends the pursuit of a restraining order against the actor, according to their attorneys.
Sheen and Brooke Mueller “reached an agreement that resolves their differences,” lawyers for the pair said Thursday night.
The statement said the details of the arrangement were being kept confidential for the benefit of their twin sons.
Mueller obtained a restraining order against Sheen earlier this month, claiming he threatened her on a recent trip to the Bahamas. A hearing had been scheduled for March 22.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles police say they have searched Sheen’s home for guns that might be in violation of the restraining order.
Officers arrived at Sheen’s Sherman Oaks home Thursday evening, searched for several hours and found one weapon, an antique gun, police service representative Stacy Ball at the Van Nuys station said.
It wasn’t clear the old weapon was a violation. Ball said that such searches are routine in which a person is subject to a restraining order, and Sheen reportedly was cooperative.
The actor later tweeted that the “LAPD were AWESOME. Absolute pros! they can protect and serve this Warlock anytime!!!’’
Also on the judicial authorities’ radar is troubled actress Lindsay Lohan. A judge on Thursday gave her two more weeks to plead guilty to a charge that she stole a US$2,500 necklace in January, delaying any decision to return the Hollywood starlet to jail. Lohan, 24, pleaded not guilty to theft of the necklace in early last month, and a California judge gave her until Thursday to reach a deal in which she would plead guilty or no contest to the charge, which is the equivalent of guilty. But attorneys failed to strike a bargain, leading to Thursday’s ruling.
On a more sedate note, British singer and drummer Phil Collins has used his personal Web site to announce his retirement in a bid to clarify recent speculation over his career.
In a post titled Breaking News, the London-born multiple Grammy award winner said he wanted to explain his reasons “for calling it a day” in response to articles claiming he was quitting the music business.
“Many of the articles printed over the last few months have ended up painting a picture of me that is more than a little distorted,” Collins, 60, explained in the message posted Monday.
He said he is stopping music so he can be a full time father to his two young sons “on a daily basis” — not because of bad reviews, bad press or because he doesn’t “feel loved.” Speculation about a possible last act for Collins was sparked by an interview in an issue of FHM magazine in which the former Genesis drummer and frontman said “it feels like a good time to stop for awhile.”
An article in the Daily Mail said a Texas clairvoyant had lead Collins to believe he is the reincarnation of an Alamo survivor. It reported that since 2007 an interest in the 1836 battle — where 1,500 Mexican troops lay siege to 200 Texans — had slowly taken over his life.
Collins has sold an estimated 100 million albums as a solo artist, but he told FHM he looks at events like the MTV Music Awards and says he “can’t be in the same business as this.”
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