TORONTO (AP) - Canadian health officials warned Charlie Sheen not to smoke when he takes the stage Thursday during the Toronto stop of his “My Violent Torpedo of Truth” tour. Sheen, who has frequently puffed on a cigarette onstage during earlier tour stops, will perform his one-man show at Massey Hall for two nights.
Ontario Health Promotion Minister Margarett Best said health inspectors would be watching to ensure Sheen didn’t light up onstage. She also offered Sheen help on kicking the habit, saying he should call the province’s quit line.
“I would encourage him, given that he is a smoker, to call our hotline and to try and quit smoking for his own health,” she said.
It is illegal to smoke indoors in Ontario and celebrity cigarette habits have caused controversy in the past. Sean Penn lit up during a Toronto International Film Festival a few years ago, resulting in fines against a local hotel.
But Sheen may have bigger things to worry about besides butting out. His bizarre tour launched in Detroit on April 2 to an unimpressed audience, with some demanding refunds, and brutal reviews.
He’s since tinkered with the show, experimenting with a Q-and-A format. While audience reception has improved, overall reviews have been mixed.
“I thought this guy’s media antics before the tour launched were incredible entertainment and publicity-wise. I knew the show would either be terrible or incredible so my friends and I are rolling the dice to check it out. Expensive dice,” said Matt Repetski, who will be going to Sheen’s Friday night show in Toronto.
Repetski paid $96 (CA$100) for his ticket. Ticket prices range from $76 (CA$80) to US$105 (CA$110), with a dollar from each ticket going to the Japanese Earthquake Relief Fund.
Sheen announced Thursday that Canadian comedian Russell Peters will be co-hosting his Toronto shows.
The actor, whose film credits include “Platoon,” “Wall Street” and “Hot Shots!,” has had past problems with alcohol and drugs, as well as several brushes with the law.
Sheen’s recent erratic behavior and battles with “Two and a Half Men” producer Chuck Lorre prompted Warner Bros. Television to fire him from the top-rated sitcom.
He’s since filed a $100 million lawsuit against Warner Bros. and Lorre, hit the media circuit with bizarre, stream-of-consciousness musings, and impulsively launched his “Torpedo of Truth.”
A company with ties to Sheen also recently applied to trademark 22 of his catchphrases, which also include “warlock,” “Rock Star From Mars” and “Adonis DNA.”
Several of his buzzwords have also been emblazoned on mugs, ashtrays, hats and other merchandise available for purchase on his website.
The hard-partying star is going through a divorce with his third wife, Brooke Mueller Sheen, with whom he has twin sons (Sheen has two other children with his ex-wife, Denise Richards).
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