Chuck Lorre: Watching Two and a Half Men Was “Too hurtful” for Me

Chuck Lorre, with his remarkable contribution to the comedy sitcom genre, can easily be called the King of Sitcoms. The producer has brought forth several highly acclaimed shows, such as The Big Bang Theory, Cybill, Mom, and Young Sheldon. But in this list, Two and a Half Men gained him huge acclaim. But also brought in a slew of controversies, all thanks to Charlie Sheen.

The actor was going through some addiction issues during the sitcom’s eighth season. During the same time, he entered rehab, and also started a major Anti-Chuck Lorre rant, bashing the showrunner at every chance he got.

It was this very public fallout with Sheen that made it almost impossible for him to watch the show again.

Chuck Lorre Struggled to Watch Two and a Half Men After Charlie Sheen Fallout

Chuck Lorre and Charlie Sheen had a very amicable relationship when Two and a Half Men premiered in 2003. But soon this friendly relationship turned into a contentious one. The entire ordeal took place in the show’s eighth season when Sheen decided to enter rehab for his addiction issues. This step put the entire season into jeopardy with several episodes yet to be filmed.

Even after this, he was very much part of the show when he decided to bash Chuck Lorre mercilessly in his interviews. Given his erratic behavior and the rant against Lorre, he was immediately dropped from the sitcom. But the actor was not the one to keep his mouth shut and, in retaliation, filed a $100 million lawsuit against Warner Bros. Television and Chuck Lorre.

While both parties reached an out-of-court settlement, the entire fiasco completely ruined the camaraderie that Lorre and Sheen had at one point in time. So much so that the showrunner stopped watching Two and a Half Men, as it was way too painful for him. In an interview, he added:

It is really gratifying that what we made still works on some level. Time has passed and the episodes with Charlie are a joy to watch. There were a couple of years there where I couldn’t watch it. It was too hurtful. I can enjoy them all now. You know, he did a brilliant job. And the chemistry between him and Jon [Cryer] and Angus and Holland Taylor and, oh my goodness, Conchata Ferrell, who has passed away. It was a beautiful cast.

This fiery feud between the duo continued for more than a decade, with several jabs thrown at each other. However, Sheen later apologized to the showrunner for his behavior in 2018. He added “I was really stupid and juvenile. Chuck’s one of the best and the brightest that this industry has ever had the pleasure of witnessing.”

Even Lorre returned the favor when he asked the actor to be a part of his 2023 show, Bookie. In this, the actor plays a fictionalized version of himself.

Charlie Sheen Discussed His Past Feud With Chuck Lorre

Both Sheen and Lorre buried the hatchet on their feud and are back to being friends. But this didn’t stop the actor from reflecting on their controversy, following the launch of their show Bookie. In an interview, while promoting the show, Sheen discussed his past feud with the showrunner.

During the same, the actor got candid about their very public falling out and expressed deep regret over the words he said at the time. Further, he admitted that the sitcom could have lasted much longer if he hadn’t messed it all up in the first place. He also added:

Yeah, if I hadn’t f—ed everything up, we could have done it as long as we wanted to. So they say, don’t live in regret, but you have to honor it. You have to learn from it. Well… Up? Yeah, there are a lot of great memories. Years of great memories, when we were cooking with gas, and we were delivering something that people were really invested in, really enjoying, and were really connected to.

The actor further added that from the initial season itself, he understood what was expected of him and how to perform as a team. But as time progressed, he began to act as though these expectations and rules no longer applied to him.

He further added that this change in personality and attitude was unfair to the entire system that was specifically put in place, as well as to the people who worked within it.

You can watch Two and a Half Men on Peacock.