Charlie Sheen sues Warner Bros. for $100 million

Just three days after Warner Bros. fired Charlie Sheen from CBS' top comedy Two and a Half Men, the actor made good on his threat and fired back with a $100 million lawsuit against producer Chuck Lorre and the Warner Bros. studio.

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  By Nick Ut, AP

  Charlie Sheen's breach-of-contract lawsuit accuses Warner Bros. of halting production of his CBS sitcom in part to punish the actor.

By Nick Ut, AP

Charlie Sheen's breach-of-contract lawsuit accuses Warner Bros. of halting production of his CBS sitcom in part to punish the actor.

In the suit, Sheen, who has ridiculed Lorre as a "clown" and a "turd" in a series of interviews over the past two weeks, says the studio and producers conspired to shut down the series in retaliation for Sheen's outbursts, which he says were provoked by a "harassment and disparagement campaign" that had "been going on for years."

As evidence, Sheen's lawsuit cites thinly veiled jokes about the star's troubles in so-called "vanity cards" glimpsed briefly during the show's end credits, and the producer's insistence that Sheen "perform multiple takes of scenes during filming, solely to harass and frustrate Mr. Sheen and exhibit that Lorre was in control."

And though Sheen has insisted that he "cured" himself of his problems, the lawsuit also says his firing was a "pretext for discrimination on account of (his) physical and mental disabilities," a violation of California law.

After canceling the rest of the season late last month, the studio fired Sheen on Monday, though it's exploring ways to continue the series for a ninth season without him.

In addition to punitive damages, the lawsuit seeks compensation for the remaining episodes under Sheen's two-year, $95 million contract. (The figure includes his share of syndication profits.) He also seeks payment for the rest of the show's cast and crew, though none are involved in the litigation. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, indicates that a conference with attorneys has been scheduled for June 28.

Sheen says he was "sober, had passed several drug tests and was ready, willing and able to return to work" by mid-February, two weeks after top executives of Warner Bros. and CBS had visited his home, insisted he enter rehab and suspended production.

But Sheen says Lorre then told him he had no scripts ready to shoot and that Warner Bros. "capitulated to Lorre's egotistical desire to punish Mr. Sheen" for his outbursts against his bosses in several interviews.

Both sides diverge sharply in characterizing Sheen's treatment.

Sheen says he sought at-home rehab because of security concerns, pronounced himself cured and mocked 12-step programs.

But the studio, in the 11-page letter that terminated his contract Monday, said he fired a sobriety coach, made no serious effort to get help and "exhibited conduct that made it clear he was in no condition to perform his duties." It also cited concerns about Sheen's "physical appearance, inability to deliver lines, inability to collaborate creatively with staff and crew (and) inflammatory comments poisoning key working relationships."

Sheen's lawsuit also calls attention to his troubles to bolster its argument that his firing stemmed only from his tirades against Lorre. It noted that CBS and Warner Bros. were "keen" to work with the actor and renewed his contract for two years last May, even as he faced a "potential felony conviction" for assaulting estranged wife Brooke Mueller, was the subject of "salacious gossip" and entered rehab.

A studio spokesman declined to comment on the lawsuit. Martin Singer, Sheen's attorney, provided a copy of the lawsuit but did not respond to requests for comment.

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