Publicist: Charlie Sheen enters rehab
LOS ANGELES, CA
"As a preventative measure, /*Charlie Sheen*/ has entered a
rehabilitation facility," publicist Stan Rosenfield wrote in a
four-sentence statement that did not specify why Sheen, 44, was
seeking treatment. The statement sought privacy for the embattled
actor.
Sheen's bosses expressed support for the actor in a statement
that said production of "Two and a Half Men" would temporarily
stop.
"CBS, Warner Bros. Television and (Executive Producer) Chuck
Lorre support Charlie Sheen in his decision today to begin
voluntary inpatient care at a treatment center," the statement
said. "We wish him nothing but the best as he deals with this
personal matter."
The statement offered no timetable for when the show would
resume taping.
The move comes roughly two months after Sheen was arrested after
a fight with his wife at his Aspen, Colo., home. Prosecutors later
charged the actor with felony menacing and misdemeanor charges of
third-degree assault and criminal mischief. The most serious charge
carries a maximum three-year prison term.
Assistant District Attorney Arnold Mordkin said Tuesday he had
not heard about Sheen entering rehab and could not discuss what
bearing it might have on the case.
Sheen's wife, Brooke, is also in rehab seeking treatment for an
undisclosed reason, her attorney Yale Galanter said Monday. She is
still asking that the charges be dismissed, he said.
Galanter and Rosenfield confirmed Monday that Los Angeles child
protective services workers visited the actor and the couple's
infant sons over the weekend. Galanter and Rosenfield said it was a
routine, previously scheduled visit related to the Aspen court
case.
Galanter did not immediately return a phone message Tuesday.
Until Tuesday, Charlie Sheen's legal problems hadn't disrupted
taping of "Two and a Half Men," one of CBS' top shows and
television's top-rated comedy.
The comedy was averaging 14.7 million weekly viewers before
Charlie Sheen's arrest. Recent new episodes have drawn nearly 18
million viewers, and 10.6 million people tuned in last week for a
rerun, according to ratings released by the Nielsen Co.
The show, about the romances and family life of two brothers
(Sheen and Jon Cryer), is the anchor of CBS' Monday comedy lineup,
which also includes "The Big Bang Theory" and "How I Met Your
Mother."
In early January, CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler said
the network was being sensitive to what it considered a "very
personal and private matter for Charlie."