Charlie Sheen said a Mexican cartel halted supplies to his dealer because his drug use and demand were so extreme, an episode he recounted Tuesday in an interview as he promotes a new Netflix documentary and a memoir.
Sheen told Jesse Watters on Fox News’ "Primetime" that his dealer, identified as Marco Abeyta, repeatedly requested larger shipments and at a higher frequency, prompting the cartel to conclude the deliveries were being diverted for sale rather than personal use. "The amount that they were selling to [my drug dealer] Marco … the amount that he kept requesting from them at the frequency that he was asking for … they had never transferred that to someone who wasn’t dealing," Sheen said. He added that cartel leaders believed he was "blowing through this stuff so freaking fast, he’s dealing without our permission."
Sheen also described efforts by CBS to get him into treatment during his run on the sitcom Two and a Half Men. He said the network sent a private jet with the hope he would board and enter rehab. "That's when I told [former CBS CEO and chairman], Les Moonves, ‘I appreciate this. You have my word, I’m going to shut it down, but I’m going to do it here at home,'" Sheen said, adding that the offer marked the first time the jet had been offered to anyone during the eight years he starred on the show.
The actor said he ultimately lost interest in drug use because it "stopped working," and he decided to quit for himself and for his children. "There was no bigger party to attend. There was no higher high left. And I just felt like I’d been letting people down for too long and myself included in that, and it just lost its luster. It lost its effect. It lost its seat at the table," he said.
Sheen noted he was fired from Two and a Half Men and replaced by Ashton Kutcher in 2011. In the interview he said he has been nearly eight years sober. He has previously discussed other aspects of his life during the period, including saying he felt "relief" after receiving an HIV diagnosis following years of substance abuse and chaotic behavior.
The interview comes as Sheen’s Netflix documentary "aka Charlie Sheen" is set to premiere Wednesday and his memoir, The Book of Sheen, was released Tuesday. The promotional appearances revisit a public arc that included peak fame, high-profile struggles with addiction and legal and professional fallout.
Sheen’s comments about cartel involvement and the quantity of drugs he consumed underscore the scale of his substance use at the time, a period that contemporaneous reporting and public statements by the actor characterized as erratic and self-destructive. CBS’ attempt to intervene, as described by Sheen, reflects efforts by networks and studios in some high-profile cases to direct talent toward treatment amid personal crises.
In recent years Sheen has publicly discussed sobriety and recovery and has appeared in media reflecting on his career and life. The new documentary and memoir provide his firsthand account of the years that led to his firing from the sitcom and his path to sobriety, including the turning points he described in the Watters interview.
Sheen did not disclose the precise timeline of every element he discussed in the Watters interview, and the network did not immediately provide additional comment. The Netflix release and the memoir are expected to generate further public attention and reporting on the episodes he revisited in the interview.