Charlie Sheen’s departure from Two and a Half Men wasn’t pretty. Despite being one of the highest-paid actors on TV during his prime, following his string of references to drug usage and his profanity-filled tirade against Chuck Lorre, WB terminated his contract in 2011.
This led to his character being killed off early in season 9, whose premiere began with Charlie’s funeral, which drew 28 million viewers, including Sheen himself. However, reflecting back on the character’s funeral, which turns into a roast session, fans aren’t quite keen on it.
Fans Weren’t Too Thrilled About Chuck Lorre’s Treatment of Charlie Sheen’s Exit
At the time of his departure from the acclaimed sitcom, Charlie Sheen was suffering from substance and alcohol abuse issues. But despite speaking ill of the series co-creator, which contributed to his falling off with WB, the actor did tune in with the season 9 premiere, Nice to Meet You, Walden Schmidt.
But Chuck Lorre wasn’t exactly going for an emotion-filled farewell with Charlie Harper’s funeral that ended up taking viewers, including Sheen, by surprise, as it turned into a roast session.
Reflecting back on it, fans aren’t quite thrilled about Lorre’s treatment of Sheen’s exit, as some Reddit commenters called out Lorre, stressing it might’ve been the showrunner’s way “to score off Sheen”.
This scene sucks 🤢
byu/Lil_K_YT inTwoandaHalfMen
One user stated: “Chuck Lorre is such a man baby for this“, while the other added: “Seasons 9 – 12 don’t exist”.
Another Redditor commented: “That was Lorres revenge scene“, and one shared: “This is where Two and a Half Men ended.“
Sharing his own viewpoint on the premiere, Sheen shared:
It was a little bizarre watching it, but yeah, for the most part I was really impressed with what they did,
Despite being vocal about his issues with Lorre and the showrunner’s other notable sitcom, The Big Bang Theory, the two no longer hold grudges against each other.
Chuck Lorre and Charlie Sheen Buried the Hatchet After a Decade
While it was his drug abuse that heavily contributed to his exit from Two and a Half Men, as of now, the Hot Shots star is in a much better headspace. Having been clean from drugs and alcohol for years, Sheen has been successful in leaving his demons behind, and along with it, the actor has also left his beef with Lorre in the past too.
Similar to The Big Bang Theory showrunner, who said the feud has “gotten to this place where it’s old news”, Sheen too “was ready to let bygones be bygones”. Moreover, it didn’t take the two long to bond over again. Lorre recalled:
I was nervous, but almost as soon as we started talking, I remembered, we were friends once. And that friendship just suddenly seemed to be there again. I don’t want to be too mawkish about it, but it was healing.
And he was also totally game to make fun of himself. When he came to the table read of that episode, I walked up, and we hugged. It was just great.
Although it’s safe to say that we were robbed of many more quality seasons of Two and a Half Men following Sheen’s early departure, fortunately for the actor, he eventually got things together.
Two and a Half Men is available to stream on Max.
