Charlie Sheen: Shades of Mel Gibson?

Whether Charlie Sheen meant it or not, part of his latest radio rant could certainly be taken as anti-Semitic. Blasting his bosses at CBS for placing Two and a Half Men on hiatus, he makes reference to Chuck Lorre as 'Haim Levine.' (Lorre was born Charles Levine.) As we all know, it is not uncommon for Jews in Hollywood to change their names, but the fact that Charlie calls Chuck 'Haim' in this instance shows the extent to which anger can be expressed. Charlie, did you really go there? The question is whether there will be much media outrage to the possibly anti-Semitic portion of Sheen's quote. Will the ADL say something? Will the Jews in Hollywood?

I would not be surprised if Charlie issues a backpedaling statement to the effect of "I have great admiration and respect for Jews. I am not anti-Semitic. Many of my best friends are Jewish ... "

I've liked Charlie Sheen for years. Watching him since the 80s, I've found him to be handsome, charismatic, humorous and fun. I was willing to forget about Heidi Fleiss and the first round of hookers, even the second round of hookers. I could put it all aside to simply enjoy his character on television and in movies. His recent antics, callous attitude towards sobering up and verbal indiscretions, have made him much harder to stomach. His latest calls in to radio programs have been nothing short of disturbing. I wouldn't be surprised if Charlie has taken the reigns with regard to self-promotion. I cannot imagine that his publicist, Stan Rosenfield, pre-approved the latest radio interviews -- In case you're wondering, he's Jewish.