There's going out with a bang, and then there's going down in a fiery crash the route Charlie Sheen opted for when he parted ways with CBS and his role on the popular sitcom Two and a Half Men. Following a very public clash with the show's creator, Chuck Lorre, Sheen embarked on a lengthy series of erratic and bumbling interviews in which he came off as increasingly unhinged. When CBS officially dropped the ax and fired Sheen, who had more than a year left on his contract, the actor's downward spiral continued, playing out in front of a very eager audience. Sheen filed a wrongful-termination lawsuit against the network, declaring that he deserved a 50% raise. He paraded his live-in girlfriends, dubbed "the goddesses," around in interviews while undergoing a public custody fight with Brooke Mueller, the mother of his two youngest children. Along the way, he coined about half a dozen catchphrases with bizarre statements like "I'm tired of pretending I'm not a total bitchin' rock star from Mars" and frequent shouts of "winning." He even took his ego show on the road, with a short-lived tour that sold out in some cities and got him booed off the stage in others. While much of Sheen's behavior was worrisome, it was more likely the boldness with which he carried out his breakdown that caused such a stir in the media. While most celebrities hide behind vague explanations and big sunglasses when scandal strikes, Sheen flaunted his erratic lifestyle for all to see; sadly for everyone involved, we just couldn't seem to stop watching. And in case you haven't gotten enough of him, the FX network has tentatively picked up a sitcom starring Sheen for next year called Anger Management.
The Top 10 Everything of 2011
- Top 10 Albums
- Top 10 Animal Stories
- Top 10 Apologies
- Top 10 Business Blunders
- Top 10 Buzzwords
- Top 10 Comebacks
- Top 10 Consumer-Spending Trends
- Top 10 Crime Stories
- Top 10 Campaign-Debate Moments
- Top 10 Best Fashion Moments
- Top 10 Worst Fashion Moments
- Top 10 Feuds
- Top 10 Fiction Books
- Top 10 Fleeting Celebrities
- Top 10 Food Trends
- Top 10 Gadgets
- Top 10 Green Trends
- Top 10 Marriage Stories
- Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs
- Top 10 Memes
- Top 10 Movie Performances
- Top 10 Worst Movies
- Top 10 Best Movies
- Top 10 New Findings in Parenting
- Top 10 New Species
- Top 10 Nonfiction Books
- Top 10 Numbers
- Top 10 Oddball-News Stories
- Top 10 Overreported Stories
- Top 10 People Not Running for President
- Top 10 Plays and Musicals
- Top 10 Political Gaffes
- Top 10 Protest Signs
- Top 10 Quotes
- Top 10 Religion Stories
- Top 10 Ridiculously Obvious Study Findings
- Top 10 Scandals
- Top 10 Smart-Phone Apps
- Top 10 Songs
- Top 10 Space Moments
- Top 10 Sports Moments
- Top 10 Toys
- Top 10 TV Ads
- Top 10 TV Episodes
- Top 10 TV Series
- Top 10 Best Tweets
- Top 10 Worst Tweets
- Top 10 U.S.-News Stories
- Top 10 Underreported Stories
- Top 10 Video Games
- Top 10 Creative Videos
- Top 10 Viral Videos
- Top 10 World-News Stories
- Top 10 Photos of the Year
In 54 wide-ranging lists, TIME surveys the highs and lows, the good and the bad, of the past 12 months