The Mammoth Book of Hollywood Scandals (64 page)

It is clear that with a bestselling book under his belt and several important movies due for release, Schwarzenegger’s acting career is back on track. It would also be fair to say, however, that with a divorce going through the courts and an illegitimate child now revealed, at the present moment his personal life can be described as nothing short of complicated.

Charlie Sheen is renowned for the various scandals in which he has been involved during his life and career, including being associated with the Heidi Fleiss vice case; rumoured domestic violence; very public divorces from Denise Richards and Brooke Mueller; and alleged drug addiction. However, his name really became synonymous with scandal during a very highly publicized few months in the early part of 2011.

At the time, Sheen was the star of
Two and a Half Men
, which by then was into its eighth season. Sheen was earning a record a $1.8 million an episode for his role as Charlie Harper, the loveable, jingle-writing bad boy, but in January 2011 shooting of the programme was suspended while Charlie Sheen went into rehab. The programme makers were happy to wait for their star to get back to good health, but unfortunately for all involved, while Sheen was on hiatus he began making derogatory comments about Chuck Lorre, the series’ creator. The press went wild that the actor was biting the hand that feeds, and as the scandal built up and up, the studio took the massive decision of firing Sheen and banning him from the Warner Brothers lot, effective immediately. The actor retaliated by filing a wrongful termination lawsuit against his employers, though this was eventually settled on 26 September.

Although the firing of Charlie Sheen caused headlines, as it turned out it wasn’t the biggest scandal. That came in the form of a very public meltdown during the months leading up to and after the firing, which was then seen live on the internet and on television by fans, foes and onlookers alike. Sheen’s remarks in public were outrageous and at times incomprehensible; interviewers swarmed to his home in order to speak to him, hopeful that his comments would be shocking enough to gain column inches around the world. They weren’t disappointed. To one interviewer he claimed that he was tired of pretending he wasn’t special: “I’m tired of pretending I’m not a total bitchin’ rock star from Mars.” He also made comments about being a warlock and tiger blood dripping from his veins, and – in an outburst that earned him the most notoriety – made the repeated declaration that, despite losing his job, he was “winning!”

Sheen’s whole life seemed to play out in front of the cameras – either controlled by news teams or himself. He opened a YouTube channel where he posted films of himself in conversation with his girlfriends, the “goddesses” Rachel Oberlin and Natalie Kenly. Despite his claims of being clean and healthy, he appeared gaunt and underweight, and many worried that his life was spiralling out of control. He most certainly did not appear to be “winning” though he continued to use the slogan so much that it soon appeared on T-shirts and bumper stickers around the world.

Sheen seemed to delight in uploading every aspect of his life on to the internet, from telephone calls to fake cooking shows, to even a disturbing video of his twin sons being removed from the family home by the authorities late one night. He also posted messages to his ex-colleagues on
Two and a Half Men
and took part in his own YouTube radio show,
Sheen’s Korner
, where he was surrounded by staff and friends, all cheering themselves on with chants of how “winning” they were, though few viewers actually agreed. The show was at times incomprehensible, extremely hard to watch and did not last long, though old episodes are still available on Sheen’s YouTube channel even now.

Then came Twitter, where Sheen broke records for gaining the most followers in the shortest time, and this continued to grow until numbers had reached the very impressive total of 7.7 million in 2012. So addicted to Twitter was he, apparently, that his girlfriend later complained that he even tweeted while making love – although what he chose to share remains a mystery.

Charlie’s rants on both Twitter and YouTube were quick to draw onlookers, anxious to see what infamous quip he would come out with next. He even began a Facebook page and shared news and his “‘winning” strategy with his 3.1 million “friends”. Through the social network he was inundated with support from fans, though in truth he also suffered with his share of internet “trolls” too. His reaction? “They all suffer from Sheenis Envy.”

The climax of his months of meltdown came in March 2011 when Charlie Sheen announced that he was embarking on a nationwide tour. Entitled “My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat Is Not an Option”, it kicked off on 2 April in Detroit. Unfortunately for Sheen, however, the trolls did not stay behind their computers and came out in droves, eager to pour scorn over the highly publicized appearance. As he sat slumped in a chair on stage, Sheen was heckled and booed by members of the crowd. “Maybe it’s more appropriate to sit up here and tell stories about crack,” he reportedly told the audience, though very few knew how to take the remark. Footage reveals the content of the show to be shaky at best, and uncomfortable at worst, though after some adjustments, it did have a better reception during later dates on the tour.

Unfortunately for Sheen, the media spotlight and disappointing tour reviews did nothing for his relationship with the “goddesses” and by June 2011 they had both flown from his life, with reporters in hot pursuit, ready to hear their stories of life at Sheen’s home, christened, rather ironically, “Sober Valley Lodge”. But while his love life was on the rocks, by September 2011 Sheen seemed to have calmed down somewhat and, for the most part, his unconventional life was at last being played out behind closed doors.

It was also rumoured that the actor had been asked back to
Two and a Half Men
, but it was not to be and he eventually made peace with the fact that his career on the show was over. Ashton Kutcher was hired to replace him and the rumour mill went into overdrive, predicting (quite rightly as it turned out) that the character of Charlie Harper would be killed off. People wondered what Sheen would think of this new development, and finally his feelings on the matter were made loud and clear when presenting an award at the Primetime Emmy Awards. During his appearance, he made a heartfelt speech to everyone involved in the show.

“From the bottom of my heart,” he said. “I wish you nothing but the best for this upcoming season.” He then went on to say how they had all spent “eight wonderful years together and I know you will continue to make great television”.

Meanwhile, season nine of
Two and a Half Men
premiered in September 2011 with Kutcher playing the character of Walden Schmidt, a heartbroken billionaire. Walden buys the late Charlie Harper’s beach house and finds himself soon sharing it with two companions – Charlie’s brother Alan and his son Jake.

The format was successful and attracted a whole new audience, but unfortunately for the programme makers, Ashton Kutcher’s reputation hit the skids somewhat when it was alleged he had been cheating on his wife, Demi Moore. However, the show weathered the storm and on 12 May 2012 it was renewed for a tenth season, shortly before one of its other stars – Angus T. Jones, who plays teenager Jake – made the headlines himself.

The story was that Jones, who was earning $300,000 an episode at the age of just eighteen, had recently found God and no longer wanted to play the role of Jake. Not only that but he then decided to launch a scathing attack in a video rant, calling the programme “filth” and urging fans not to watch it. He described how he no longer wanted to be involved in the series; lectured about the effects of television on a person’s brain; and declared the medium “bad news”. The video was then posted online for the entire world – including CBS executives – to see.

They refused to comment about the video, though after the debacle of the Sheen scandal, it was clear to everyone that they would not be in the least bit pleased. An apology quickly came from the Jones camp in which he said sorry for any remarks that “reflect me showing indifference to and disrespect of my colleagues”. Charlie Sheen was quick to jump to his former co-star’s defence, however, and told newspapers that he could completely understand what the young actor was going through and said he was fairly certain the show was cursed. He then reached out to Angus and offered him a role in his new show,
Anger Management
, though whether or not the young actor will ever accept the offer is unknown.

In the meantime it remains to be seen if
Two and a Half Men
can struggle on much longer, given the scandals and negative comments that have been associated with its stars over the past few years. But for Sheen his life and career continues, living fairly quietly and starring in
Anger Management
, a comedy where he plays – of all things – an unconventional therapist specializing in controlling anger. The show attracted a record 5.74 million views for its debut episode, though reviews were mixed and it is not yet known if it will match the success of
Two and a Half Men
.

Still, there is no denying that the show proved to be a new beginning for Sheen, and it looked like he had set about moving up and away from the memories of his very public meltdown. This included deleting his highly successful Twitter account on 13 July 2012 with a photograph showing a bottle of Tabasco sauce on the dashboard of a plane. It was accompanied with a heartfelt but mystifying message which read: “Reach for the stars everyone. Dogspeed cadre. C out.”

The reason Sheen gave for deleting the account was that he was not getting “anything out of the social network”. However, fans need not have worried, as just a month later he was back, promoting his
Anger Management
show; welcoming back his 7.7 million followers; urging them to follow him on Facebook; and giving away signed scripts and other items. A week after rejoining Twitter, he posted a tweet thanking everyone for their support and ending with the catchphrase which is set to be with him forever: “Winning!” Let’s hope for his sake that this time he really is.

When Demi Moore married Ashton Kutcher in 2005, it created quite a stir. The bride was fifteen years older than her groom, but while they seemed to laugh in the face of their critics by making their marriage a good one, it ultimately ended in scandal, disgrace and very nearly tragedy.

Demi Moore is no stranger to controversy. In 1986 the actress starred in
About Last Night
with actor Rob Lowe, which not only showed her nude, but included an abundance of graphic sex scenes, the likes of which had very rarely been seen in a mainstream Hollywood film. Her love for pushing the envelope when it came to films continued in 1993 when she co-starred in
Indecent Proposal
with Woody Harrelson, playing a woman who sleeps with a playboy (Robert Redford) for the sum of $1 million.

Both films raised eyebrows, but in 1991, two years before
Indecent Proposal
, it was her personal life that was causing sharp intakes of breath. Completely at ease with her body and while seven months pregnant with her daughter, Scout LaRue, Demi took to the cover of
Vanity Fair
, completely naked with a hand placed strategically over her breasts. The cover caused scandal the world over and all hell broke loose with discussions over whether or not it was appropriate to see a pregnant woman in such a revealing pose.

The photo session succeeded in breaking down barriers in terms of how pregnant women’s bodies are perceived, and indeed various celebrities have shown off their nude bumps since then. But in 1991 it had never been done before and has gone down in history as being the most talked-about
Vanity Fair
cover ever created.

Other “body-related” scandals erupted when Demi stripped on an episode of the
Late Show with David Letterman
and starred in a controversial movie entitled
Striptease
(1996), but while all this was fodder for the tabloids, her relationship with the much younger actor Ashton Kutcher provided much more than that. While Demi’s films were sometimes physically revealing, she had a good reputation as an actress in movies such as
Ghost
(1990),
A Few Good Men
(1992) and
The Juror
(1996). However, Kutcher was the madcap star of
Dude, Where’s My Car
(2000) and TV show
Punk’d
, so when they began dating in 2003, it did not seem as though the pair would have anything much in common.

Critics determined that the relationship wouldn’t last, and when they married on 24 September 2005, many journalists made reference to the age gap and predicted the end would be soon in coming. However, as the marriage went on, it looked as though the couple were going to prove their critics wrong, and it wasn’t long before the age gap made no difference to anyone but reporters.

Moreover, the couple also seemed to have a great deal in common: Demi was a follower of the Kabbalah faith and Kutcher joined too; they both had an active interest in raising awareness of child sexual slavery; and always looked extremely comfortable with each other while out and about in public. They even showed how diplomatic they could be towards Demi’s ex-husband, Bruce Willis, when they were all photographed together – with children – on the red carpet and holidayed frequently as one big happy family.

However, it was on Twitter that the couple received the greatest attention, and in 2009 Kutcher became the first person to reach a million followers. The two seemed to enjoy reporting every detail of their personal lives online; chatted to each other on the site despite frequently being in the same room, and posted many pictures. One of those photos – of Demi bending over in her underwear – was flashed around the world at an incredible rate in 2009. Kutcher accompanied the picture with a caption, “Shhh don’t tell wifey”, while she responded by tweeting, “He is such a sneak” and told followers that the picture was snapped while she was steaming his suit.