2006 - Charlie Sheen - Challenge me on the Facts

Whilst the fourth anniversary had witnessed some of the most balanced ever coverage of 9/11 conspiracy theories – thanks to reviews of 9/11 Revealed – this media goodwill soon evaporated in the spring of 2006. On Monday 20th March 2006, US film actor Charlie Sheen appeared on a US radio talk show hosted by independent journalist and prominent 9/11 conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to voice his doubts about the veracity of the official story of 9/11. (audio)

The story was almost completely ignored in the British media. The BBC, for example, didn’t cover it at all, not even to rubbish Sheen’s stance. This is despite the fact that the BBC clearly regards Sheen as newsworthy enough to report widely on his turbulent private life. There are many articles about him which predate his March 2006 comments on 9/11, whilst in the months following his radio interview, several articles appeared about his marriage break up. These include, “Sheen 'must stay away from wife'” , “Actor Sheen denies abusing wife” , “Sheen restraining order extended” and “'Amicable' split for actor Sheen”

It can’t be argued that the BBC regards the political views of Hollywood celebrities as not being newsworthy, as evidenced by their coverage of two stories concerning the attitude of actors Bruce Willis and Robin Williams towards the Iraq war. September 2003 saw the BBC report on “Actor Willis' $1m Saddam bounty”, whilst in December 2003, they noted that, “Williams entertains Iraq troops”.

Insane

Whilst the BBC and other newsrooms simply ignored the story, it was picked up by celebrity gossip columnist Marina Hyde in the Guardian, who couldn’t resist resorting to ridicule. The subheadline of “He's a right Charlie”, published on Saturday 25th March, 2006 reads, “Mr Sheen is the latest celebrity to confuse fact and fiction.”

Hyde turns one of Sheen’s quotes from the radio show on it’s head as she writes, “…the Hotshots Part Deux star told a US radio station this week, ‘…and then when the buildings came down later on that day, I said to my brother 'call me insane', but did it sorta look like those buildings came down in a controlled demolition?’ You're insane. Next.”

Hyde repeats the tactic of linking questionable aspects of Sheen’s past with genuine concerns that he raises. She writes, “But it is George Bush's assertion that he saw the first plane hit the north tower of the World Trade Centre before any footage of it had been released that tells Charlie he's on to something. ‘I guess one of the perks of being president is that you get access to TV channels that don't exist in the known universe,’ he continued in a manner which in no way suggests he once had a monstrous coke problem.”

So although Hyde doesn’t actually refute Sheen’s allegation, she ridicules it by association. CNN actually reported on Bush’s comments on 4th December 2001. The US president is quoted as saying, “And I was sitting outside the classroom waiting to go in, and I saw an airplane hit the tower - the TV was obviously on, and I use to fly myself, and I said, ‘There's one terrible pilot.’ And I said, ‘It must have been a horrible accident.’” CNN / video

The guilt by association theme is continued throughout the article, as Hyde writes, “For many celebrities, conspiracy theories are the VIP rooms of history. Sure, you'll have your Earl Warrens and your senate investigations patrolling the velvet rope…” and “…but you'd have to think there'd be a seat in the Sheen kitchen cabinet for Spike Lee, who last year told CNN he suspected the Bush administration had blown up the levees in New Orleans.”

Finally comes, “Tom Cruise, who famously dismisses psychiatry as a big conspiracy” whilst “completing the quartet is Michael Jackson, who…was taped espousing the oldest conspiracy of all: it's the Jews!”

Fun

The following Saturday, Hyde used her ‘Lost in Showbiz’ column to continue her ridicule of Sheen and respond to “…hundreds of furious emails - including a trenchant exchange with David Shayler - and, perhaps most upsettingly, a verified document headed ‘Charlie Sheen Statement to the London Guardian.’”

But “It was meant to be fun ...”, published on Saturday 1st April, 2006 begins with Hyde’s mocking admission that she is, “distressed to the point of requiring constant medication by a week that began last Saturday on these pages, in a column addressing the actor Charlie Sheen's espousal of a 9/11 conspiracy theory.”

After lamenting that Sheen no longer looks, “like the drug addict he played in the 1986 classic Ferris Bueller's Day Off”, Hyde informs her readers that, “Charlie has issued a formal rebuttal, and though I haven't quite the strength to print it here, I am deeply chastened.”

Sheen’s unpublished statement to the Guardian accuses journalists such as Hyde of, “…blatantly disregarding any of the potentially valuable content of the story” whilst “no attention whatsoever is given to the questions I raise or the evidence that stimulated those very questions.”

Most tellingly, Sheen challenges his critics to, “Do a little research on Building Seven. (WTC7) Building Seven lives at the epicenter of my entire debate. Prove yourself worthy of genuine investigative journalism. Look at the video evidence.”

After brushing aside Sheen’s statement, Hyde deals with some of the emails she received about her initial column. “Rebuke instead comes from a new army of web readers. ‘You stupid whore,’ reasons one. ‘Do you believe everything the president tells you?’ But of course I do. He is Charlie's dad, after all.” This refers to Charlie Sheen’s father Martin Sheen, who plays the role of US president in the TV series ‘The West Wing’.

Overall, Hyde’s two columns represent a resurgence in the tactic of ridiculing 9/11 conspiracy theories. Sheen is quoted sparingly, whilst the majority of the column is devoted to personal attacks. However, Hyde is keen to point out that her “facetious showbiz column”, “might be kindly described as a few jokes about celebrities on a Saturday.”