On Thursday, Charlie Sheen filed a multimillion dollar lawsuit against Chuck Lorre and Warner Bros. for breach of contract. A quick break-down:
1. He says Chuck Lorre had “egotistical desire” to punish him.
Most of the suit centers on Lorre, the show’s co-creator, whom Sheen’s attorney, Marty Singer, says first stopped production on the series and then forced Warner Bros. to terminate Sheen’s employment “to serve his own ego and self-interest.” The suit claims that Lorre refused to write and supervise production on episodes out of an “egotistical desire to punish Mr. Sheen” and because he had better financial arrangements on two other comedies he produces for Warner Bros. In essence, Sheen’s employment was terminated because of Lorre, “the proverbial 800-pound gorilla” who could make the studio do anything he wished, states the suit, which was first reported by
TMZ.
2. He says he was driven to publicly attack Lorre.
When Sheen spoke out about Lorre (calling him
everything from a “turd” and a “clown” to “Chaim Levine”), the suit says it was in response to Lorre’s “harassment and disparagement campaign, which had been going on for years.” The suit lists some of Lorre’s past “vanity cards” as examples: “Avoid degrading yourself by having meaningless sex with strangers in a futile attempt to fill the emptiness of your soul,” reads one.
3. He says his wild lifestyle has nothing to do with his firing; it’s because he publicly went after Lorre.
Countering claims Warner Bros. made earlier this week that Sheen had breached the terms of his contract with his behavior and comments, the suit cites Warner’s eagerness to sign Sheen to a new contract in May of 2010 to a deal for two more years on the series even though at the time he was facing both felony and misdemeanor charges.
4. He says Warner Bros. violated his Fair Employment and Housing Act rights.
ABC News sums it up best: The suit says WB accused Sheen of having physical and mental disabilities and that, according to WB, “health care experts have observed Mr. Sheen in an alleged ‘manic’ and/or ‘bipolar’ state; other health-care experts have described Mr. Sheen as suffering from ‘hypomanic’ psychological state. WB further claims Mr. Sheen has had a rapid physical and mental deterioration of this condition. WB bluntly states that Mr. Sheen is very ill.” The filing notes that “on or about March 7, 2011, WB refused to reasonably accommodate Mr. Sheen from Warner Bros. claim that Mr. Sheen has an alleged illness and need for medical care and/or treatment when it terminated his employment contract. Rather than accommodate Mr. Sheen for Warner Bros. claim that Mr. Sheen has alleged physical and mental disabilities, WB instead terminated Mr. Sheen’s employment agreement.” This is a violation of FEHA Against Defendant (Fair Employment and Housing Act), the suit states.
5. Why he wants more than $100 million for the lost salaries plus punitive damages
Noting that he has helped Lorre and Warner Bros. generate “more than a billion dollars” starring in
Men, Sheen and his attorneys demand that in addition to his own compensation, “the entire cast and crew get paid for the balance of the season’s 24 episodes,” the suit states. His attorney Marty Singer tells
THR in an
exclusive interview: “Charlie is looking out for the people he’s working with. Warner Bros. can try to cast this however they want but the complaint speaks for itself.”
