Entertainment | Celebrity

Sheen apologises for homophobic slur

I meant no ill will and intended to hurt no one, actor says

Los Angeles Times
Published: 11:29 January 1, 2013

Image Credit: Reuters
Actor Charlie Sheen

Actor Charlie Sheen has issued an apology after making a homophobic slur Friday night during the opening of rooftop bar at a seaside hotel in Mexico.

“I meant no ill will and intended to hurt no one and I apologise if I offended anyone,” Sheen said in the statement.

The slur was caught on tape. “How we doing?” Sheen says to the crowd as he takes the stage to introduce some musical acts, according to the video posted on TMZ’s website on Sunday. “Lying bunch of ... how we doing?”

On Friday, Sheen promoted on Twitter the opening of Epic Bar on the rooftop of the four-storey El Ganzo hotel in San Jose del Cabo, near Cabo San Lucas, on the southern tip of Baja California. Sheen later tweeted a photo of himself with an arm around Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, touting the mayor’s visit to the grand opening.

“From Boyle Heights 2 Mayor of LA..! .... Antonio Villaraigosa knows how to party!” Sheen tweeted at 8.18am on Saturday, showing a photo of the grinning actor in a tight-fitting button-up shirt, with his left arm slung around the mayor. Villaraigosa, flashing a toothy smile, was in a dark blazer with the top of his white shirt unbuttoned. A flier on the hotel’s Twitter page said Sheen was to present Slash, former lead guitarist of Guns N’ Roses, at 9pm. Friday. David Sanchez, a hotel concierge, confirmed that Sheen was at the hotel to host the event Friday night.

Sheen promoted the bar opening all day on Friday. ‘Ready for EPIC..!’ he tweeted that night, just before the opening party. Earlier, he wrote, “Chilling @hotelelganzo and this place is amazing!! Can’t wait to launch the Club Epic tonight. ... What a party!”

Peter Sanders, the mayor’s press secretary, confirmed that Villaraigosa was in Cabo and is scheduled to remain in Mexico until January 2. The City Council’s president, Herb Wesson, is acting mayor until then. Sheen was fired last year from the hit show ‘Two and a Half Men’ after he became critical of the show’s co-creator, Warner Bros, and CBS. He now stars in the FX comedy ‘Anger Management.’ Villaraigosa, who is term-limited, is in his final year as mayor of Los Angeles. The two-term mayor leaves office June 30.