Charlie Sheen's 'Violent Torpedo' Bombs in Detroit

Actor's rambling brand of crazy doesn't fly in Motor City
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 3, 2011 6:46 AM CDT
Charlie Sheen's 'Violent Torpedo of Truth' Show Bombs in Detroit
The marquee of the Fox Theater in Detroit, Friday, April 1, 2011. Charlie Sheen's 20-city road show, called "My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is Not an Option," kicked off last night.   (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Charlie Sheen opened his "Violent Torpedo of Truth/Failure Is Not an Option" tour last night in Detroit, and it turns out failure is indeed an option. The actor's rambling monologue was nonsensical—at times even to himself—and an enthusiastic crowd turned into boo-birds quickly. A rundown from critics, audience members, and the spectacle himself:

  • Things didn't bode well when Sheen had to come out to ask the audience to stop booing his rambling opening act, writes Susan Whitall of the Detroit News. But Sheen got a standing ovation and then "had the goddesses burn his Two and a Half Men shirt, and donned a Tigers jersey (with "Warlock 99" imprinted on the back), to great cheers. Alas, the good time didn't last long."
  • "Step right up, ladies and gentleman, and see the Incredible Candid Celebrity try to improvise his way out this one!," writes Julie Hinds in the Free Press. "The elephant in the room is the very real concern that many expressed over his state of mind."

  • "Is anybody as confused by this shit as I am?" Sheen asked the audience at one point, according to People. "The good news is, I wrote every word."
  • "I figured Detroit was a good place to tell some crack stories," Sheen said. "Show of hands—who here has tried crack? Forget that. Who is holding crack right now? I don't do crack anymore, but I'm just saying." More boos.
  • Fans left the Fox Theater in droves, reports the Detroit News. Says one: "It's like watching a drug addict at his house and 5,000 people are sitting here watching him just do what he does." Another: "It was supposed to be a comedy show but there was no comedy. I paid $125 for my seat. I want a refund."
  • Ultimately, "the unlikely folk hero found his Waterloo," writes Whitall. As an "ugly mood turned darker ... the show ended abruptly. The houselights came on and nobody came out to say goodnight. Many fans had already fled, but some sat in their seats, stunned."
(More Charlie Sheen stories.)

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