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by Niall O'Dowd

Charlie Sheen coverage by US media is disgraceful--- treating as a circus the tragedy of a person falling apart

Posted on Wednesday, March 02, 2011 at 11:12 PM
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The U.S. media has been disgraceful in its treatment of Charlie Sheen.

The fact is that this is a man in deep psychiatric distress who needs help not a nation gawking at him as some kind of freak show.

It is clear from his television interviews that he is being goaded on by the media looking for the latest manic sound bite.

In fact the Irish American actor is in deep pain and desperately in need of help. He is a richly talented man who has profoundly lost his way.

It reminds me of the circus around Michael Jackson, but the laughing stopped when he essentially killed himself with an overdose with some help from others.

There are those who love the freak show and a million people have signed up for his latest manic twitter messages in just over a day.

Like vultures to a carcass the media and public gather round

But what about his little twins who were removed from his custody yesterday? That is a profound tragedy

What about his father Martin, a true humanitarian in so many ways who is now witnessing his son self-destruct?

Charlie Sheen is actually going through hell as any person addicted to a substance eventually does.

The media is aiding and abetting his path towards a catastrophic breakdown which could end up in suicide like Jackson, Monroe and so many others.

The media needs to back off, his family needs to intervene, he needs to be safe in a psychiatric facility until someone can figure out what really ails him.

That is the sad reality of Charlie Sheen, not the freak show the media is putting on now.

His family, his kids, Sheen himself, deserves better.



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82 Comments

15 - 82 | See all comments

Boozwatch | May 04, 2011, 04:18 PM EDT
Agree. Alcoholism is a tough problem and Charlie deserves love and respect like any of us. Have borrowed his 'sheenius' tag in the latest Gargle Nation article to draw some publicity to the growing body of research pointing to a possible doubling of alcoholism coming our way.

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maloney | Mar 09, 2011, 09:08 AM EST
Crazy like a fox.

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cathyann | Mar 08, 2011, 07:32 PM EST
I agree with this view. The media needs to let him alone. Then maybe he could find some real help.

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Mavaureen | Mar 07, 2011, 07:04 PM EST
Dear Hearts and Gentle People...Please reserve your criticisms and judgments of Charlie Sheen until all the evidence is in. I think that all is not as it seems. If you have never witnessed a loved one have a bipolar episode, then you are blessed. There is no "drug high" that can compare to a manic high. They are invincible, nothing can hurt them, sleep is unnecessary and they are seeing everything more clearly than everyone else. This is their mindset. You ask where are his parents and why don't they do something; the simple truth is that they can do nothing legally. Put him in rehab? With out Charlie's signature that can't be done. Should he physically hurt someone or himself then they can "commit" him for 72 hours, after which he can sign himself out. His loved ones are truly in a Catch 22. Please send your prayers and highest intentions to Charlie, his parents, his children and his ex-wives; please include his godesses because they too are in harm's way.

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rpmschevy | Mar 07, 2011, 01:50 PM EST
Niall no comment to my post, as usual. The reason the media is after him, rightly so, is that he just cannot stop his ego. Look at this he is going to Haiti. If he wanted to get clean, then like so many others that actually do good in the world, do it silently.

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Searlit | Mar 07, 2011, 09:10 AM EST
emeraldisle, How heartbreaking! Even though I don't know you, I feel sorrow over such a devastating loss, for you. I knew a few teenagers, when I was growing up, that overdosed. Terribly sad, all of it.

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emeraldisle2 | Mar 07, 2011, 08:10 AM EST
I couldn't have said it better. Thank you for you honest opinion of what is going on here. Where is his family and why are they not intervening? In 2004, I stood back and didn't want to admit to myself that my son was using drugs again. I came home after being at work for 3 hours and found him overdosed and dead. Maybe intervention in an extreme way, would have avoided this, but I'll never know. He was 28 and today is his 35th birthday.

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ciarajoyce | Mar 06, 2011, 07:55 PM EST
I'm not sure why anyone finds his ranting interesting; I've not watched any of his public diatribes and plan to continue avoiding them. Mr Sheen needs to grow up and take responsibility for his actions and the folks in the TV & movie industry need to stop giving him a platform on which to make a fool of himself. Also, in case there are folks who think coverage of him in this publication is appropriate because of his Irish name, "Sheen" is a "stage name." His true last name is Estevez. I think when his father started in Hollywood, Hispanic people were supposed to act like stupid fools so his father adopted the last name of "Sheen." That, unfortunately, says too much about the prejudices of the people of the US. The senior Mr Sheen has conducted himself with dignity and has tried repeatedly to get help for his son. As long as Charlie Sheen has an audience, he will continue to act like a fool. The big question is: How long can his liver survive the abuse it's being subjected to? Is Charlie bipolar, manic, or a spoiled brat (spoiled by Hollywood bigwigs making money off his misbehavior)? I can't think of any reputable doctors who would diagnose him based on TV appearances, so I think it's foolish non-professionals to try.

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Searlit | Mar 06, 2011, 03:56 PM EST
Good, nothing like doing something to help other people, to give your own ego a rest.

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KathyCallahan | Mar 05, 2011, 06:25 PM EST
I read what Sean Penn said to Charlie Sheen yesterday and it's the best thing that I've heard to date. Charlie tweeted about what he told Philadelphia radio show host - 'My long time best friend Sean Penn gave me one piece of advice in the form of an invitation...to go down to Haiti with Sean and survey the disaster and volunteer alongside him...Maybe my Tusami up here will lead to some good being down there' Hopeful sign I

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Irishjule | Mar 05, 2011, 10:18 AM EST
I am very disappointed in peterkissel's answer. I feel very sorry for Charlie Sheen and for his family and will continue to lift them up in prayer. I met Martin Sheen quite some years ago and he is a very nice, down-to-earth person and I'm sure he had high hopes for all of his children. It's a disgrace the way the media is treating Charlie. He needs help and PRAYER.

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ronnie4u2o | Mar 05, 2011, 02:00 AM EST
It's not a joke, the man really needs help . i feel sorry for his kids. and his abused wives. its not too late to save him . he has a lot of talent and in need of Medical Help.

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Nanaof5 | Mar 04, 2011, 03:25 PM EST
Look up Bipolar Disorder and you will see Charlie Sheen.He needs help which he is not very likely to request at this point because,believe it or not, he feels great-They always do when they are in the manic phase and usually refuse medication-Lithium etc. because in a manic episode,you don't want to be like everyone else.He said that himself. Unless he is a real danger to himself or others, he cannot even be committed to a hospital and that is so sad.the medications do work but, he is a classic caseand this could endup very badly.

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peterkissel | Mar 04, 2011, 02:39 PM EST
I have a question for Niall: Why is this celebrity-trash subject even being disdcussed in an Irish-centric media outlet? I doubt Charlie Sheen has any thought that he's Irish, and the whole story is irrelevant anyway - to everything in our lives. But for what it's worth, this guy deserves nothing from anyone - if he showed one smidgen of respect for others, instead of referring to his fellow struggling actors as "turds", he might be desrving of a little tiny bit of understanding. But no, sorry, this guy is the epitome of the spoiled a-hole who really things that everyone else is a piece of crap and he's just the next greatest thing to God Almighty. Niall, wake up- he simply isn't wortth your time or ours. I'm very disappointed in your column here - I expect more of you.

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pugsmom | Mar 04, 2011, 09:31 AM EST
I would blame this as much on our American thirst for sensationalism as the media itself. The media is only giving "us" the smut of which the general populous can't seem to get enough. If we would just quit twittering and gasping at every act of impropriety by movie/rock "stars", athletes who's performances don't justify multimillion dollar contracts, politicians' lascivious lifestyles, ad nauseam, then perhaps we might all become, or at least APPEAR to be, a bit more educated in matters that actually..........MATTER!

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