Sheen booed off stage

Charlie Sheen was booed early today by audience members who walked out of his variety show debut in droves, demanding their money back.

Troubled Sheen, 45, and the women he calls his “goddesses” walked on stage in Detroit, Michigan, to thunderous applause during the first date of his planned 20-stop “Torpedo of Truth” variety show tour.

But the goodwill soon faded as audience members at the Fox Theatre began yelling at the sacked 'Two And A Half Men' star for refunds and walking out.

Sheen hit back, quipping “I’ve already got your money, dude”, after an audience member booed.

Sheen was fired from the hit CBS TV sitcom in March over his alleged drug use and increasingly erratic behaviour. Sheen responded by filing a $100m (€70m) lawsuit.

Sheen starred in a string of hit movies in the 1980s and 90s, including the Oliver Stone dramas 'Wall Street' and 'Platoon' and the comedies 'Ferris Bueller’s Day Off' and 'Major League'. He later found small-screen success starring in the hit sitcoms 'Spin City' and 'Two And A Half Men', where he seemed a perfect fit for his character, a womanising bachelor.

It remained to be seen, though, whether Sheen could sufficiently entertain a live audience for 90 minutes.

Some of the fans who gathered outside the 5,100-seat Fox Theatre before it opened its doors for said they were hoping to hear the unrestrained rants the actor’s become known for in recent months.

“It’s kind of like a Nascar race. You’re just tuning in because you’re just waiting for the accident to happen,” said Ronnie Prentice, 37, who lives near Toronto, Canada.

“He might be doing something really crazy,” said Adam Hawke, 47, who works in the construction business and lives in Michigan. “He’s a wreck. That’s half the draw.”

Geoff Rezek, 69, flew in from New York to see what he believed was going to be “history in the making”.

“I wouldn’t miss the first show. Who knows if there’s going to be a second show?” said Rezek, a computer consultant from Connecticut, who said he also bought a ticket for Sheen’s show next week in his home state.

Sheen has made headlines in recent years as much for his drug use, failed marriages, custody disputes and run-ins with the police as for his acting. His father, actor Martin Sheen, has compared his son’s battle against addiction to that of a cancer patient’s fight for survival.

In August, Sheen pleaded guilty in Aspen, Colorado. to misdemeanour third-degree assault after a Christmas Day altercation with his third wife, Brooke Mueller. The couple’s divorce was recently finalised.

The wayward star’s behaviour finally became too much for Warner Bros Television, which sacked him from 'Two And A Half Men' on March 7.

Sheen fired back with a €70m lawsuit and all-out media assault in which he informed the world about his standing as a “rock star from Mars” and a “warlock” with “Adonis DNA” who lives with two “goddesses”.

His unique banter and catchphrases – think “winning” – have spread over the internet and on to T-shirts, more than a few of which are expected to be sold on the tour, which wraps up on May 3 in Seattle after stops in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, New York, San Francisco and others.

Sheen had said the Detroit show, where tickets cost €30 to €57, sold out.

“I am bringing My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is Not an Option show out to you in the battlefield,” Sheen said in a video announcing the tour.

“If you’re winning, I’ll see you there. Trolls need not apply. ... Buy your ticket. Take the ride. And the ride will take you.”

Linda Fugate, 47, of Detroit, who said she paid for two seats, walked outside and up the street yelling: "I want my money back!"

“I was hoping for something. I didn’t think it would be this bad,” she said. “It was just a bunch of ranting,” said Rodney Gagnon, 34, of Ontario.

The show started well for Sheen, as the crowd stood and cheered as he and the “goddesses” took to the stage. The women, one a former porn star and the other an actress, carried signs with the words “War” and “Lock”, references to one of the catchphrases Sheen recently coined.

“I don’t see a single empty seat,” he said.

He tried on a bowling shirt like one his TV character Charlie Harper would wear, then took it off and had his goddesses burn it. He then donned a Detroit Tigers No 99 jersey, a reference to his role in Major League.

He told everyone he wanted them to enjoy “a night of winning”. Winning was one of many of Sheen’s catchphrases to be displayed in a video montage. Others were “Violent hatred” and “Adonis DNA”.

Sheen had said rapper Snoop Dogg would perform at the show, but he did not. Instead, the show ended with a video for a new Snoop Dogg song before the lights went on.