Warner Bros. Television dismissed Charlie Sheen from "Two and a Half Men" effective immediately in March 2011, ending a standoff that had played out across several weeks of erratic public behavior by the 45-year-old actor.
The termination followed a string of media tirades against the show's producers, remarks that drew accusations of anti-Semitism, and repeated declarations that he was "winning." A letter from the studio's lawyers cited "dangerously self-destructive conduct" as grounds for dismissal.
Sheen had accumulated more than two million Twitter followers during the episode, and public relations professionals argued he could convert that audience into income through sponsorships, a reality television deal, or his weekend live-streaming show, "Sheen's Korner," on Ustream.com.
He had publicly pushed for a raise to $3 million per episode, up from $2 million, a demand that became irrelevant once he was fired. TMZ reported he planned to sue producer Chuck Lorre and Warner Bros. over the dismissal.
Hollywood observers placed the saga alongside prior career collapses involving Mel Gibson, Mickey Rourke, Robert Downey Jr., Britney Spears, and Lindsay Lohan, while noting that social media gave Sheen a direct channel to millions of viewers without any filter from traditional press.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in March 2011, in its own words.