The type of media blitz surrounding Charlie Sheen over the past couple of days is usually reserved for actors with a new project to promote, not a freshly unemployed sitcom star.
But because Sheen has popped up everywhere in last couple of days — from “TMZ” and “The Today Show” to “The Howard Stern Show” — everybody with a microphone or a Twitter account has felt obliged to weigh in on the absurdity of Sheen’s antics, which have included claims of instant sobriety, as well as having DNA composed of tiger’s blood.
“He does need to be detoxed and stabilized and whatnot,” addiction specialist Dr. Drew told CNN’s Piers Morgan. “He’s getting so impaired psychiatrically that eventually, provided he doesn’t get really medically ill or harm himself or somebody else and the legal system step in, that eventually the psychiatric system’s going to step in.”
Everybody seems to want what he or she think is best for Sheen. But what if Charlie being Charlie is what’s best for Sheen?
In the multiple interviews that Sheen has done this week, he’s referenced his rock star lifestyle with pride.
“I’m tired of pretending that I’m not special,” Sheen told “The Today Show’s” Jeff Rossen. “A total rock star from frickin’ Mars.”
What no one is going to say in today’s politically correct society, is that Sheen’s right; he is special. If Sheen isn’t special, then what do you call somebody who gets paid $2 million an episode to essentially play himself on “Two and a Half Men?”
Some people seem to have a problem with a man whose behavior they view as immoral, and an even bigger problem when that man is unapologetic about it. But that’s just who Charlie Sheen is: a blend of Don Draper and Charles Barkley.
“What’s not to love? Especially when you saw how I partied,” Sheen unapologetically told ABC’s Andrea Canning. “It was epic.”
Others offended by Sheen aren’t convinced that he is, in fact, sober, as he says he is, despite the fact that he’s passed multiple drug tests over the past week. They refuse to believe that it’s possible that Sheen has gained sobriety by simply closing his eyes and using the power of his brain, as he claimed to in multiple interviews.
They’d prefer that Sheen use a better-known process, like joining Alcoholics Anonymous, which Sheen pointed out has a 5 percent success rate (according to addictioninfo.org, the true number is between and 3 and 7 percent).
Another popular theory for the reasoning behind Sheen’s antics is that they don’t stem from the disease of addiction, but instead from a bi-polar personality disorder, as Dr. Drew suggested.
Sheen has other ideas.
“I’m bi-winning,” Sheen told Canning. “I win here and I win there.”
Regardless of their theories, critics appalled by Sheen dating two girls (his “goddesses” as he calls them) while making jokes about his sobriety all seem to agree on one thing: Sheen will never get the help he needs unless he seeks it himself.
But who are they to say that Sheen needs help? This is who Sheen wants to be and what he has fun doing. Like any action, Sheen’s behavior has consequences, and he’s shown he’ll take responsibility for what he does. Who are we to say whether he’s winning or not?
If we can celebrate people such as Lady Gaga and the cast of Glee for being different and sticking to their principles, why doesn’t Sheen deserve the same judgment-free treatment?
