Is Charlie Sheen Quitting "Two and a Half Men?"; The Un-sexiest Men Alive
A.J. HAMMER, CO-HOST: Big news breaking today on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT - is Charlie Sheen quitting his hit show? Brand-new explosive reports today that Charlie is leaving "Two and a Half Men."</s>CHARLIE SHEEN, ACTOR: What are you selling? Better not be your liver. I`ve got dibs.</s>HAMMER: Have all of Charlie`s scandals finally caught up with him? Or is this just slick move by Sheen to spend out more money? Or is he just ready to move on? And the un-sexiest men alive. They behaved badly. Women hate them. So did Tiger and Jesse make the list? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT reveals the un- sexiest men alive.</s>ANNOUNCER: TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now.</s>HAMMER: Hello. I`m A.J. Hammer coming to you from New York City.</s>BROOKE ANDERSON, CO-HOST: Hi there, everyone. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood with big news breaking today. A big time Charlie Sheen shake-up.</s>HAMMER: Yes. Big time, indeed, Brooke. Just when you thought Charlie Sheen couldn`t get any more unpredictable, he goes and shakes everything up again today. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT confirming today that Charlie Sheen plans to quit his hit show, "Two and a Half Men" after this season. Jaws dropped today with breaking news that after seven wildly successful years, Charlie Sheen plans to quit "Two and a Half Men" after a rocky year of rehab, brutal court appearances and a marriage in turmoil. I`ve got to wonder, why is Charlie now walking away from the one good thing he has got going on? Why now? Also breaking today, is Jesse James a broken man? That`s what Jesse`s friends and lawyer are saying today. Incredible claims that all this media attention over Jesse`s alleged cheating on Sandra Bullock has destroyed has destroyed his life. Joining me right now in New York is Sunny Hostin from our sister network, Tru TV. She`s from the legal network, "In Session." Also in New York, Ben Widdicombe, who is a celebrity journalist. Let`s start this off with Charlie Sheen. Today, his rep told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Charlie is leaving the show, TV`s most successful sitcom, because he`s tired of the day-to-day grind of a sitcom. He wants to make more movies. Sunny, are you buying this? Or do you think maybe this has something to do with his upcoming trial for allegedly attacking his wife?</s>SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR, "IN SESSION" ON TRU TV: I`m not buying what he`s selling. I`m telling you, why would he walk away from making almost $1 million dollars an episode? Is he so employable? He is a liability. Who else is going to hire him? What kind of insurance do you have to have to have Charlie on your payroll? He`s a bad boy. He`s got addictions. He`s always in trouble.</s>HAMMER: Yes.</s>HOSTIN: Why walk away?</s>HAMMER: Well, we used to talk about how Teflon he always was. And now, really not so much. He`s facing some big time legal troubles right now. Let`s run down some of the charges he`s facing here. He`s been charged with assault after his wife called the cops on Christmas Day claiming that he had a knife to her throat. He`s also charged with criminal mischief. And if that wasn`t bad enough, they threw in a menacing charge for good measure. Now, Charlie has pleaded not guilty to all these charges. But you know, if he`s convicted, he faces one to three years in prison. Ben Widdicombe, to you - Charlie`s rep denies that Charlie`s legal problems have anything to do with him leaving the show. I`ve always liked and trusted Charlie`s rep to say it like it is, but are you buying it?</s>BEN WIDDICOMBE, CELEBRITY JOURNALIST: Well, you know, I don`t think Charlie`s walking away. I mean, the fee I`ve seen reported is he makes $825,000 an episode. It has been seven years. We can understand why he might be a bit sick of the job after that length of time. But it`s the top comedy on television. He`s not going to walk away from that. I believe that if anything, it`s just a ploy to get even more money per episode.</s>HAMMER: Well, that`s exactly the thing that a lot of people are saying. And I want to give you a little interesting twist of the whole story. Charlie`s contract over there is up at the end of the season. And his rep did tell SHOWBIZ TONIGHT he hopes this is going to have a happy ending which sounds like the door is being left open. Maybe, Sonny, he`s playing hardball for more money. And as we mentioned, he makes almost $1 million bucks an episode now.</s>HOSTIN: That makes a lot more sense than "I`m just leaving because I`m tired." I cannot imagine that he`s tired of making almost $1 million dollars an episode. No one else really is going to hire him, I think.</s>HAMMER: Yes. Well, and it happens all the time in Hollywood. We see those kinds of ploys in a negotiating tactic. But no matter what Charlie`s motive, the big question today, can "Two and a Half Men" possibly survive if Charlie Sheen leaves? Well, today, that question just sparked a big, old fired-up debate on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Facebook wall. Let me get to a couple of the comments here. Ramona G. writing, "No, it can`t survive without Charlie Sheen. They all need to work together and keep Charlie out of trouble and on the show. Good luck with that." This is Kathleen C. writing, "I think it will be just as funny without him. Some of the best moments on the show are with John Cryer and Holland Taylor." Brooke Anderson, what do you think? I mean, what the heck are they going to call it now? "One and a Half Men"?</s>ANDERSON: Yes. I think that his co-stars are extremely talented, very, very funny. But Charlie Sheen is "Two and a Half Men."</s>HAMMER: Yes.</s>ANDERSON: He has really carved out an identity with this character. This character is essentially Charlie Sheen. I cannot imagine it surviving without him. I cannot even fathom another actor stepping in to replace him. I understand when some actors say, "I want to do something different. I want to shake up my career a little bit, take a step back maybe at times." But honestly, I do not think that`s the story here. I think the real story, like you guys say, is that this is a negotiating tactic. It is very common. It happens all the time in Hollywood. More money, more money, more money.</s>HAMMER: Yes. And CBS, Brooke, is contracted to keep that show on the air from Warner Brothers for another two years. So I think this is a wait and see. Let`s move on to another big story breaking today - literally breaking. Is Jesse James a broken man? Well, that`s what his friend and lawyer said today. He says all this media scrutiny over James alleged serial cheating on Sandra Bullock - it has just destroyed Jesse`s life. And he needs time and space to heal. No doubt, Sunny, that Jesse James has been under intense scrutiny and the butt of so many jokes since this thing broke almost three weeks ago. But do you feel any sympathy for the guy?</s>HOSTIN: I do not. I have made several jokes at his expense and I think he deserves it.</s>HAMMER: And will you continue to do so?</s>HOSTIN: I will. I will, because I love this story. And the bottom is, A.J., he`s a nasty, lowdown cheater. He cheated on America`s sweetheart and he deserves every single thing that he gets.</s>HAMMER: And as he said in that statement he put out when all this first broke, he deserves everything that is coming to him. He said it himself. Well, I want to you take a look at the results of an exclusive poll commissioned by SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. This is just incredible. We asked, "Sandra Bullock`s Husband: Do you have any sympathy for Jesse James?" Put those results up, Charles. Look at this. Oh, a little one-sided. Ninety-five percent of you said no sympathy for you, Jesse James. Only five percent had it in them, OK, maybe a little bit of sympathy. Ben, are you surprised that even five percent have some sympathy after what he`s put Sandra and America through?</s>WIDDICOMBE: I am, a little bit, actually. I think pro-Jesse`s toast. I mean, really - these really unsavory allegations - it`s even being suggested that he might have gotten one of his mistress pregnant. They`re saying there are as many as 11 women out there who claim to have had sex with him while married to Sandra Bullock. He`s gone to rehab. We don`t know why he`s in rehab. I think that`s a pit of a PR smoke screen, honestly. I just think he wants to get away from the paparazzi. But he`s reputation is going to take a long time to recover, if it ever does.</s>HAMMER: If it ever does. Yes, indeed. Well, our "Showbiz on Call" phone lines - not surprisingly, they`ve just been on fire about this all day long. And if you`re wondering who are those five percent who feel bad for Jesse? Well, just listen to Kay from Tennessee. Roll Kay for me, Charles.</s>KAY, CALLER FROM TENNESSEE: I say leave the man alone. He became famous with Sandra. And these women have thrown themselves at him and he needs to be left alone to get well, get better.</s>HAMMER: OK, Kay. Definitely appreciate your side of it but a whole lot more people are saying, let him suffer. That`s exactly what Desiree from Florida thinks. Listen to her.</s>DESIREE, CALLER FROM FLORIDA: I don`t have any sympathy for that man or for any man that`s a cheater. If you don`t want to be faithful, you shouldn`t have gotten married.</s>HAMMER: All right, Sunny. Most people feel right now exactly the way that the last caller, Desiree, feels. So what is it possibly going to take - try to be optimistic for Jesse. What will it take for the tide to turn for him?</s>HOSTIN: I have no idea. I mean, I`m thinking maybe if Sandra Bullock took him back and put some sort of spin on it. But why would she take that nonsense? Why would she do it? She can have anybody that she wants.</s>HAMMER: Ben Widdicombe, let me go to you because you`ve been covering the ups and downs of Hollywood stars for a long time. Is there anything - I mean, we haven`t really seen anything quite like this before. Anything in your mind that can possibly make the tide turn in his favor and people will start having a little sympathy for the guy?</s>WIDDICOMBE: I do. I think as Sandra Bullock goes, so goes the country. For example, when Hugh Grant cheated on Liz Hurley. She took him back. The relationship didn`t last forever. But you know, I think if the scorned woman takes the guy back, then a lot of people will give him the benefit of the doubt.</s>HAMMER: Yes. And I guess, you know, we all love and respect Sandra Bullock so much that perhaps that will go to happen. We will all be siding with her and we will want what is best for her and whatever she thinks is best for her. Unbelievable. Sunny Hostin, Ben Widdicombe, thanks, guys. All right. Now, I`ve got to turn it over to you</s>ANDERSON: OK. Let`s play connect the dots. Star addition. Are you ready? What do Tiger Woods, Jesse James, John Edwards and "Jersey Shore`s" The Situation have in common? They are all on the same list today. Let me tell you, it`s not a list these guys are going to be fist pumping about. The great Oprah debate. Now, we know that she`s getting ready to throw in the towel on her talk show to start her own network. But can Oprah save Oprah?</s>OPRAH WINFREY, HOST, "THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW": I`ve decided that next season, season 25, will be the last season of "The Oprah Winfrey Show."</s>ANDERSON: And picking on Palin. Her new show just debuted. It`s about American heroes. That`s great, right? No. Sarah is getting slammed for some reason today. What gives? This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN news and views.</s>TEXT: Time now for the "SHOWBIZ News Ticker." These are more stories from the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsroom making news today.</s>TEXT: Jesse James cited for vandalism in clash with photographer, who was also cited for stalking James. Sandra Bullock`s "The Blind Side" is number one selling DVD in its first week out in stores.