Production on Charlie Sheen's hit sitcom 'Two and a Half Men' has been halted after the actor ranted about the show's creator.
Sheen firstly lashed out at Chuck Lorre on a US radio station calling him a "turd" and a "clown".
He told listeners: "I’ve spent, I think, close to the last decade, I don’t know, effortlessly and magically converting [Lorre’s] tin cans into pure gold, and the gratitude I get is this charlatan choosing not to do his job, which is to write."
The actor, whose battles with addiction have been well-publicised, later told gossip website TMZ that he wanted to fight Lorre in an octagon, adding: "If he wins, then he can leave MY show!"
He added: "I violently hate Chaim Levine [Chuck Lorre's birth name is Charles Levine]. He's a stupid, stupid little man and a p**sy punk that I'd never want to be like. That's me being polite.
"That piece of **** took money out of my pocket, my family's pocket, and, most importantly, my second family - my crew's pocket. You can tell him [Lorre] one thing. I own him."
The producers of the show, which is one of the most watched on US TV, responded by saying they were stopping work on the series.
In a statement, CBS and Warner Bros said: "Based on the totality of Charlie Sheen's statements, conduct and condition, CBS and Warner Bros Television have decided to discontinue production of 'Two and a Half Men' for the remainder of the season."
Sheen responded angrily to the news with an open letter, also published on TMZ:
"What does this say about Chaim Levine after he tried to use his words to judge and attempt to degrade me. I gracefully ignored this folly for 177 shows ... I fire back once and this contaminated little maggot can't handle my power and can't handle the truth. I wish him nothing but pain in his silly travels especially if they wind up in my octagon.
"Clearly I have defeated this earthworm with my words - imagine what I would have done with my fire breathing fists. I urge all my beautiful and loyal fans who embraced this show for almost a decade to walk with me side-by-side as we march up the steps of justice to right this unconscionable wrong."
The actor's original outburst is believed to have been sparked by a message on a 'vanity card' that featured during the closing credits of last week's episode.
Chuck Lorre has a long history of featuring 'vanity cards' with messages at the end of shows that he works on. The cards are normally featured for just a couple of seconds so viewers wanting to read them in full often have to pause the picture in order to do so.
Last Monday's 'Two and a Half Men' vanity card said: "If Charlie Sheen outlives me, I'm gonna be really p***ed."
