Why is Charlie Sheen Invincible in the Press?
There’s a lot of theories floating around on entertainment news shows about why Charlie Sheen seems to get away with his bad behavior. Many people blame CBS, saying that they would never fire Sheen for bad conduct because the television business is all about ratings, and Two and a Half Men is still a big hit on the network. Though I’d take just about any opportunity to bash network suits, I’m going to make an exception this time around. Charlie Sheen is still likable because he owns up to his behavior. He was recently caught doing drugs with a hooker in a hotel room, which didn’t come as a surprise since everyone already knows Charlie Sheen does drugs and sleeps with hookers. He’s never tried to snow the public by presenting himself as an upstanding, moral family-man. Look at Oprah, for example. She’s practically Jesus, and she’s openly admitted to drug use and having sex with a married man. Mel Gibson and Tiger Woods are unforgiven because they tried to dupe the public into believing they were flawless. If Tiger presented himself as a womanizer from the very beginning of his golf career, I think he would have ended up just as popular as he ultimately became. So what’s the moral of the story? You’re free to snort cocaine off a hooker’s stomach — just own up to it.
Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.
-Janis Joplin