On Thursday, CBS’ “Two and a Half Men” will air its series finale, bringing to an end 12 seasons of big ratings, crud🃏e humor and ♛more than its fair share of controversy.
ܫMuch of that was due to its volatile star (for seasons 1-8, anyway) Charlie Sheen, who drug abuse and marital problems often ๊made headlines in his eight-year run on the sitcom. But creator Chuck Lorre’s envelope-pushing jokes also made sure the on-screen antics made waves over the years.
Before “Two and a Half Men” airs its final episode of Thurs🔯day at 9 p.m. on CBS, here’s a look back at some of the comedy’s m🦋ore controversial moments.
Charlie Sheen gets fired
The sitcom’s most shocking m🎉oment came when Sheen went on a tirade against the show in 2011, making insulting statements about its producers (calling co-creator Chuck Lorre a “stupid, stupid little man), which shut down production for the remainder of the season.
He then went on a publicity tour whe🌌re he continued to behave erractically, coining catchphrases like “tiger blood,” before Warner Bros. final🔜ly fired him in March 2011. Sheen went on to earned a reported $25 million in settlement and was replaced on “Men” by Ashton Kutcher.
Angus T. Jones calls the show ‘filth’
In late 2012, the comedy’s “half” man, Jones, ranted about “Two and a Half Men” in a video testimonial for a Christian group💛, telling viewers to “please stop watching it and filling your head with filth.” He cited his faith in saying he didn’t want to be on the show, saying “You cannot be a true God-fearing▨ person and be on a television show like that.”
Jones i🔴ssued a public apology shortly after, but he left his role as a regular cast member the following season to attend college.
CBS censors Chuck Lorre’s vanity cards
The show’s co-creator has famously used his vanity cards (the production company logos that appear in end credits) to speak his mind since the ‘90s, sounding off on everything from his father issues, political views and Hollywood. And he doesn’t mince words — several of the cards for “Two and a Half Men” have been censored by CBS over the years, like when he took shots at Viaco🦹m executive chairman Sumner Redstone or listed words that “confuse” the network’s censors.
Alan and Walden get married
“Two and a Half men” drew the ire of many in the LGBT community for a season 12 storyline that saw the two (straight) male leads, Walden (Kutcher) and Alan (Jon Cryer), get married in order to adopt a child. When the offending episode aired last October, that the story “seemed reallyജ fertile to have a lot of funꦚ with,” adding, “hopefully we haven’t done something too terrible in taste.”
The PTC goes to battle
The Parents Television Council has hardly been a fan of the bawdy sitcom, which it deems “not recommended for viewers of any age” due to its🍌 sexual content. The watchdog group specifically called out a 2007 episode that featured dialogue about bestiality and sex with vegetables and filed an indecency complaint with the FCC for a strip-club scene in a 2008 episode.