Charlie Sheen was heckled, booed and eventually abandoned by the crowd at his inaugural stage show, with many of the audience members chanting “refund” and heading for the exits even before the show abruptly ended.
The first stop on Sheen’s “My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is Not an Option” 20-city variety show tour started Saturday night in Detroit with thunderous applause but ended 70 minutes later. In between, Sheen tried to appease his audience with rants, a rapper and a question-and-answer session, ultimately concluding the first show was “an experiment.”
The former “Two and a Half Men” star learned firsthand at Detroit’s 5,100-seat Fox Theatre that show business still requires a show. The debacle called into question the fate of the nascent tour. Some fans already predicted a premature end for the month-long trek.
It wasn’t clear when Sheen lost the audience, but there were many awkward moments.
Sheen, known for his wild partying and rampant drug use, said he thought Detroit would be a good place to tell some stories about crack cocaine. The remark prompted loud, immediate boos.
At another point, Sheen showed a short film he wrote, directed and produced years ago called “RPG.” He sat in the front row to watch the flick, which starred a much younger Johnny Depp. Again, more boos.
Fans who arrived at the theater — some flying in for the show — said they were hoping to see the increasingly eccentric actor deliver some of the colorful rants that have made him an Internet star since his ugly falling out with CBS and the producers of “Two and a Half Men.”
They got the ranting. It just wasn’t funny.
Sheen took the stage in Chicago less than 24 hours later, receiving a standing ovation Sunday night. The crowd cheered when the curtain opened and revealed a smoking Sheen. Some in the crowd chanted “Detroit sucks.”
People who lined up outside the historic 3,600-seat Chicago Theatre before the show said they had low expectations after what they heard about Sheen's performance Saturday night.
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