14 DAY TRIAL // Charlie Sheen has been officially replaced: CBS and Warner Bros. named Ashton Kutcher as the new star of “Two and a Half Men.” The announcement came as a shock for the former star of the show, who actually still believed he would one day be asked back.
Though neither CBS nor Warner Bros. left any room for doubt as to the possibility of asking Sheen to come back on the show after the very public and very violent spat between him and showrunner Chuck Lorre, it would seem he still had hope it might happen.
A source close to the star tells PopEater that Sheen still believed he was not done with “Two and a Half Men” and was virtually standing by the phone, waiting to be asked back.
It’s the years he was allowed to do whatever suited his fancy that led to this conviction, that he could still do as he wished and get away with it.
“He really thought that he would be invited back. After years of suffering no consequences for his behavior, why would he think anything else?” a friend of Charlie’s says for the aforementioned e-zine.
“Finally it has sunk in that he doesn’t live by different rules to everyone else. Actions do have consequences,” the insider adds.
What’s even worse, Sheen believed the outburst of some months ago would actually turn into the biggest thing in his career: he’d be offered more money for “Men” and would even land other gigs.
None of that happened and the disappointment is excessively bitter.
“He is destroyed that Ashton is replacing him. Destroyed. We are all worried that he hasn’t hit bottom yet and that this could make him spiral out of control again,” the friend explains.
“Especially after all the other productions that he assumed would happen have fell apart,” adds the source.
In previous interviews, Charlie said that he was getting a new show and lots of offers for various projects. He also said he’d been in contact with the “Men” in order to come back to the show.