Charlie Sheen and the Double Standard in Hollywood
By Thoughtis
Only a few months after Charlie Sheen was found naked in a bathroom with hookers and cocaine, the troubled actor was rushed to the hospital Thursday morning after suffering “severe abdominal pains”, which were later attributed to a hiatal hernia. His rep—who must be exhausted and dreaming about being Taylor Swift’s publicist—released the statement, “Charlie has had a history of having this type of hernia, and the person who made the 911 call said he had severe stomach pains and said it was from a hernia condition. Since she is not a doctor, I did not extend her medical knowledge to the media.”
According to TMZ though, the story is bullshit. The day before, the actor reportedly had a briefcase full of cocaine delivered to his house and proceeded to go on a 36-hour bender with two porn stars. Even though TMZ is a dubious news source, the story doesn’t seem too far-fetched given the actor’s sordid past. It has also been further substantiated by the release of this video in which Kacey Jordan—one of the porn stars who was with Charlie the night of his bender—describes in detail how she drank to excess with Sheen, watched him smoke cocaine, and went to his personal movie theatre to watch porn with him for two hours. During their magical time together, Sheen also described plans to Jordan of retiring and moving into a house with a bunch of porn stars, asking her if she would like to join and be the token blonde of the house. Jordan accepted his offer mostly because he promised to buy her a Bentley.
What’s perhaps more puzzling than the evening itself is the fallout from his drug binge. Since everyone is in denial of Sheen having a problem, the actor will not be entering treatment and will return to work on his Emmy award-winning sitcom, Two & A Half Men on Tuesday. This dedication to enabling the actor and his vices is frightening and sets the stage for tragedy.
Sheen is emblematic of the ultimate Hollywood double standard. He can beat up his girlfriends, hookers and do copious amounts of drugs and still find work on a very successful sitcom. If he were an actress, I doubt he would even be given the option of returning to work. Rehab would be his only chance at salvaging his career. The case of down-and-out actress, Lindsay Lohan, comes readily to mind when discussing Sheen’s exploits. Here’s a 24-year old actress who has been forced into rehab 8,000 times to save face, lost movie roles and incurred irrevocable damage on a once-hot career. The public has been cruel to her and delighted in her downfall. Studios have shunned her, citing the high costs it would take to insure her. Sheen, on the other hand, is in his 40’s, has children and has been caught doing so many worse things and is doing just fine. In fact, every time Charlie Sheen beats up a hooker, it seems like he’s given an Emmy. So what’s the deal? Why is Hollywood still clutching on to this damaging double standard? Why is no one giving Sheen a time-out and forcing him into treatment like they did with Lindsay Lohan? Not only is the actor’s perpetual “Get out of a jail free” card sexist, it’s also probably going to end up killing him. Sorry, Charlie.
