Chaim Levine: Chuck Lorre's Real Name, Says Charlie Sheen

"Two and a Half Men" creator Chuck Lorre -- whose show was canceled for the rest of the season -- was the target of Charlie Sheen's insane radio rant on Thursday, but Sheen said his diatribe was directed at one Chaim Levine. So, what gives?

Sheen, blasting Lorre on the Alex Jones Radio Show before later challenging him to an ultimate fight, claimed in his rant that Lorre's real name was Chaim Levine. That statement was taken by some to be anti-semitic, and here's why:

Lorre's real name is, in fact, Charles Levine; obviously, Chuck is a nickname for Charles, and Levine was indeed his family name. So where does Chaim come from? Chaim is the hebrew version of Charles. It'd be like saying someone of Latino descent, legally named George, is in fact named Jorge. Using the wrong name is a way at jabbing at his religious background.

Here's what Sheen said about Lorre to Jones:

"I'm tired of being told 'You can't talk about that, you can't talk about that.' Bull S-H-I-T. There's something this side of deplorable that a certain Chaim Levine -- yeah, that's Chuck's real name -- mistook this rock star for his own selfish exit strategy, bro. Check it, Alex: I embarrassed him in front of his children and the world by healing at a pace that his unevolved mind cannot process. Last I checked, Chaim, I spent close to the last decade effortlessly and magically converting your tin cans into pure gold. And the gratitude I get is this charlatan chose not to do his job, which is to write. Clearly someone who believes he's above the law."

Some perceived bringing up the cultural background as anti-semitic, though others point to Lorre's February 8th vanity card in which Lorre himself brought up the name Chaim. Still, he never claimed to be named that, as legally, he isn't.

Later, in a letter to TMZ after finding out that the show had been canceled for the season, Sheen said:

What does this say about Haim Levine after he tried to use his words to judge and attempt to degrade me. I gracefully ignored this folly for 177 shows ... I fire back once and this contaminated little maggot can't handle my power and can't handle the truth. I wish him nothing but pain in his silly travels especially if they wind up in my octagon. Clearly I have defeated this earthworm with my words -- imagine what I would have done with my fire breathing fists. I urge all my beautiful and loyal fans who embraced this show for almost a decade to walk with me side-by-side as we march up the steps of justice to right this unconscionable wrong. Remember these are my people ... not yours...we will continue on together... Charlie Sheen

Earlier in February, Lorre included a vanity card at the end of an episode of "Two and a Half Men" that read:

I exercise regularly. I eat moderate amounts of healthy food. I make sure to get plenty of rest. I see my doctor once a year and my dentist twice a year. I floss every night. I've had chest x-rays, cardio stress tests, EKG's and colonoscopies. I see a psychologist and have a variety of hobbies to reduce stress. I don't drink. I don't smoke. I don't do drugs. I don't have crazy, reckless sex with strangers.

If Charlie Sheen outlives me, I'm gonna be really pissed.

Comments

[BKearney]

11:21 PM on 03/01/2011

So saying a Jewish name is antisemetic?

[Kenny Wolf]

08:48 PM on 03/01/2011

So another out of control celebrity Charlie Sheen does a "Mel Gibson" by purposefully using Chaim Levine to define Chuck Lorre. Meanwhile this is Hollywood where practically everybody changes their real/given name to either sound less ethnic or to sound more movie star-ish. But there is something else in common with both Gibson's and now Sheen's outbursts. Both anti-semetic rants were out of the blue and completely out of context. What is so telling is that religion had not been previously brought up by either person that they were ranting at.

Anti-semitism is so ingrained in this society that no matter what the situation, or who did what to who, it doesn't matter, in the end it's the Jews who are responsible for orchestrating peoples misfortune. Moreover in this case Sheen uses the name change to Chaim Levine to emphasize that Chuck Lorre is Jewish and that that this Jew is the reason for Sheen's current self inflicted problems. Sheen wants everyone within earshot to connect Chaim Levine the Jew with power and control and by doing so Sheen wants to insinuate that it's the Jew, Chaim Levine/Chuck Lorre who is responsible for all of this. So once again Jews are the scapegoat, they are the ones responsible not only for Sheen's personal problems but for ALL the worlds problems that non Jews face. Coming from Charlie Sheen, who's real name is CARLOS ESTEVEZ. You'd think he would understand, but he's not Jewish.

[VirginiaJeff]

05:51 PM on 02/27/2011

"If Charlie Sheen outlives me, I'm gonna be really pissed."

LOL.  What a great line!

[jusathot]

05:41 PM on 02/26/2011

."..is his real name." Says Carlos Irwin Estevez, lol.

[VirginiaJeff]

05:51 PM on 02/27/2011

LOL

[Horsy]

03:22 AM on 02/26/2011

"Using the wrong name is a way at jabbing at his religious background."

generally, true, but not in this case

Chuck Lorre calls himself exactly by the same name Charlie Sheen used, just read some of his vanity cards he attaches at the end of every sitcom episode he produces:

you can read them all at his website:

http://chucklorre.com/index.php?p=327

CHUCK LORRE PRODUCTIONS #327

"Which raises the question, why have I spent a lifetime moving away from that group? How did Chaîm become Chuck? How did Levîne become Lorre? The only answer I come up with is this: When I was a little boy in Hë brew school the ráb bis regularly told us..."

[Ryan Becker]

04:22 AM on 02/26/2011

Horsy wrote:
"Chuck Lorre calls himself exactly by the same name Charlie Sheen used, just read some of his vanity cards"

Lorre used "Chaim" to express a point, namely that some of his Jewish-ness has changed. He never meant that his REAL name is Chaim, which is what Sheen literally said, "yeah, that's Chuck's real name." More importantly, the factual component is less relevant than the context of Sheen's usage (which implies intent, and yes, whether he is anti-Semetic).

Regardless of whether Lorre was ever really named Chaim (he wasn't), the question is then why was there a need to bring up "Chaim"? It had absolutely no relevance to Sheen's rant or complaints -- unless you want Lorre's ethnicity/religion included in the list of insults, which would definitely make Sheen anti-Semetic. Most damning of all is Sheen's imagery of money, deceit and greed -- all negative Jewish stereotypes -- a la Bernard Madoff (a Jew), i.e. "tin cans into pure gold," "his own selfish exit strategy," "charlatan chose not to do his job," and "clearly someone who believes he's above the law." When you feel that Lorre's Jewish background is somehow relevant in that context, anti-Semitism can certainly be inferred. Otherwise, why bring it up?

Sheen's defenders, such as Stilyagi below, may argue that he wanted to expose Lorre's dishonesty. But as you have shown, Lorre readily talked about his Jewish background in the vanity cards, and has even jokingly used "Chaim."

[ShalomDammit]

06:48 PM on 02/25/2011

Hear Rabbi Sol Solomon's thoughts on Charlie Sheen by visiting his blog of Rabbinical Reflections at www.shalomdammit.com.

The Rebbe's reflections air weekly on the Dave's Gone By radio program and are then posted as audio podcasts and text transcripts.

Here's a sample from this week's Rabbinical Reflection on Charlie Sheen:

"After yet another stay in rehab – ooh, that must have been a tough three days – Sheen pronounced himself fit as a fiddle and ready for work.
Just what CBS wanted to hear about their hit show, “Two and a Half Men.” Only Charlie Sheen’s idea of being ready for work is vilifying his boss – the show’s creator – on syndicated radio.
He called producer Chuck Lorre an earthworm, a maggot and a charlatan – which is pretty strong stuff to call anyone who isn’t a lawyer."

Look for: Rabbinical Reflection #006: Charlie Sheen

[jusathot]

05:44 PM on 02/26/2011

Channeling Rick Sanchez.

[krumudgen]

02:24 PM on 02/25/2011

charlie attacks the writing as a problem. he complains of censorship, do not get me wrong.. he is cooked... but the shows lately suck. the story lines with little more than sexual blabber that are not funny, the kid was turned into an idiotic smart as$. they keep burning down some chicks house,or running some contripe ponzie scheme. the plot with rose is beyond idiotic...give berta a spinoff and loose everyone else.

[Stilyagi]

12:07 PM on 02/25/2011

"Using the wrong name is a way at jabbing at his religious background."

Wrong, FAIL. Charlie used the man's -right- name. The name you were born with can not be "the wrong name". No matter how many times you change your name in life, the name you were born with is your REAL name. All the others are just you attempting to hide your real name. As a Je w, I'm offended by the accusation that Charlie Sheen is anti se mitic simply on the basis that he "outed" Chaim Levine by telling the world his real name. At worst, Charlie wanted to embarass Chaim by outing him, by telling people he's trying to hide his real name. And of course, Sheen, aka Carlos Estevez, is a hypocrite for doing that.

[Ryan Becker]

12:44 PM on 02/25/2011

Stilyagi wrote:
"Charlie used the man's -right- name.... As a Je w, I'm offended by the accusation that Charlie Sheen is anti se mitic simply on the basis that he "outed" Chaim Levine by telling the world his real name."

Er, I can't tell if you're joking, but you need to do some research and reread the original Huffington Post article if you're serious. Chuck Lorre's birth name is Charles Michael Levine. Nowhere is "Chaim" listed, except in Charlie Sheen's mind. The point of the Post article is that Sheen decided to use the Hebrew version of "Charles," even though it has nothing to do with reality. In other words, in the midst of a negative rant against Lorre/Levine, Sheen decided to make his ethnic/religious background an issue for no apparent reason. Since Sheen's goal was to portray Lorre/Levine in a negative light, including his heritage (for no logical issue) implies that it is a negative feature in Sheen's mind. That can certainly be interpreted as anti0Semetic.

[jusathot]

05:45 PM on 02/26/2011

Correctamundo.

[TracyA]

01:52 PM on 02/25/2011

Wow, since you obviously glossed right over the ENTIRE paragraph leading up to that sentence, let me repost it for you: "Lorre's real name is, in fact, Charles Levine; obviously, Chuck is a nickname for Charles, and Levine was indeed his family name. So where does Chaim come from? Chaim is the hebrew version of Charles. It'd be like saying someone of Latino descent, legally named George, is in fact named Jorge."

The name he was "born with" is Charles, not Chaim. So, who's wrong?