Why Charlie Sheen Hated Appearing On The Big Bang Theory

Charlie Sheen appeared as himself on an episode of CBS’s The Big Bang Theory in 2008, a performance that delighted fans but that the actor apparently hated. Sheen had already worked with its creator Chuck Lorre, on Two and a Half Men, as one of the leads of the famed sitcom from 2003 to 2011. In that decade, he was also named one of the highest-paid actors on TV, reportedly making $1.8m per episode. He later went to star in Anger Management for two seasons, from 2012 to 2014.

His cameo appearance on The Big Bang Theory happened in season 2, episode 4, “The Griffin Equivalency.” In that episode, Raj (Kunal Nayyar) was invited by his friends Leonard (Johnny Galecki), Sheldon (Jim Parsons), and Howard (Simon Helberg) for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory to celebrate his discovery of a planetary object finally being recognized. After they left because of his behavior, as it showed how fame had gotten to his head, Raj started enthusiastically sharing with everybody that he was going to be in People magazine. Charlie Sheen – in response to this – then delivered the iconic line, “Yeah, call me when you’re on the cover.”

In an interview in 2013, when he was promoting his new show Anger Management, Sheen’s cameo in The Big Bang Theory came up, and he did not seem to have anything nice to say about it. The actor shared (via The Guardian) that the show was “stupid,” “lame,” and “about lame people.” also referring to it as “a piece of s**t.” Sheen then elaborated on his hatred for the show, as he believed that without Two and a Half Men paving the way for it, The Big Bang Theory would not have been possible.

The Wall Street actor also went on to express sympathy for the actors in it, saying that he liked them, but then he wondered how they “stayed sane,” as he knew “who they were dealing with.” He alluded to showrunner Lorre being a “bad man” before sharing that he “backed off him for a while.” Sheen’s exit from Two and a Half Men was partially due to disagreements between the two – something Sheen made no secret of, speaking poorly of Lorre time and time again in interviews, letters to online tabloid newspapers, and stand-up comedy shows. The actor attributed to Lorre the loss of profits for all the times the show’s production was halted. Contrarily, CBS and Warner Bros. Television held Sheen responsible for these events, suggesting they stopped Two and a Half Men in order to give him the chance to check into rehab.

This all said, Charlie Sheen seemed to truly believe that Two and a Half Men had launched The Big Bang Theory. The actor suggested he should have been included in its profits as the show used him as a lead-in. His complaints were not aimed only at Lorre: Sheen accused Warner Bros. of not paying the crew when they halted the show’s production, and not letting him profit from any other type of revenue coming from it, as he had no equity in Two and a Half Men.

Charlie Sheen might have hated The Big Bang Theory because of its qualities or because he genuinely ascribed its success to Two and a Half Men, therefore being due to him and his cast. Nevertheless, his anger towards both shows’ creator Lorre cannot be denied. Likewise, wondering if Sheen’s rancor for The Big Bang Theory was connected to Lorre cannot be avoided.

About The Author