Health Promotion minister warns Charlie Sheen not to smoke on Toronto stage
This strikes me as oddly funny...
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/health-prom...93145-713.html
TORONTO - Television star Charlie Sheen is being warned not to smoke while on stage at Toronto's Massey Hall.
Sheen has frequently been seen smoking on stage during earlier stops on his "My Violent Torpedo of Truth" tour, which lands in Toronto tonight for two shows.
Ontario Health Promotion Minister Margarett Best says public health inspectors will be watching to make sure Sheen doesn't smoke on stage at Massey Hall.
Best also offered Sheen help to quit smoking, saying he should call her directly or the province's smokers' quit line.
Actor Sean Penn caused a similar stir by smoking on stage during the Toronto International Film Festival a few years ago, which resulted in fines against a local hotel.
Charlie Sheen upstaged by Russell Peters at Toronto show, fans say
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/charlie-she...20008-340.html
Quote:
TORONTO - Charlie Sheen brought his ramshackle "Violent Torpedo of Truth" tour to Massey Hall on Thursday night, but many in attendance felt the troubled TV star was outshone by his onstage interviewer: acclaimed comedian Russell Peters.
"Russell Peters monopolized the evening," said Jane Baldwin of Toronto, who left the gig before it was over.
"The show wasn't about Charlie Sheen," added Mackenzie Risk, who drove four hours from North Bay, Ont., and left early after paying $100 for a ticket.
"It was, like, Russell Peters and as much as Russell Peters is great and he definitely made the show, it was just all about him."
Sheen has received mixed reviews since his first outing was met with catcalls and walkouts in Detroit on April 2. He has since tinkered with the show, settling on a Q and A format.
But sharing the stage with such a high-profile performer on Thursday may have backfired.
"I couldn't enjoy it and Russell Peters was running the show," said Daniel Cooper of Toronto, who also headed for the exits before Sheen was done.
"I think Russell Peters is a great comedian but Charlie Sheen really flopped. The reason I came here was for Charlie Sheen."
Others seemed to imply that the "Torpedo" tour was simply boring.
"There are a lot better things to do than watch that show," said Toronto resident Richard Shekter, who also left early after shelling out $100 for his ticket.
"I thought it would be more organized and that he would actually be talking. There's nothing happening. They're just making it up as they go along."
"I wasn't expecting much but it was less than I was expecting."
Added Risk: "Charlie Sheen would just sort of answer a question with one word ...any prompt that Russell Peters would give to him the answer would always be 'yes' or 'no.'"
Still, there were plenty of Sheen supporters on hand.
Syed Gardezi of Toronto said the show was "awesome."
"I'm a big fan of (Sheen) so it was a good opportunity seeing him live, closely," she said.
Marva Hutchinson of Toronto said she wanted to see the "Torpedo" tour because she's a big fan of "Two and a Half Men," the hit sitcom that Sheen was fired from last month after a war of words with producer Chuck Lorre.
"I watch episodes (of "Men") every day, at least twice a day, and I'm fascinated with the things that he says, the laughter, the jokes," said Hutchinson, who made her own T-shirt emblazoned with Sheen's face to wear to Thursday's show.
"He's just a happy-go-lucky guy."
Before the Toronto gig, Sheen affably greeted fans while sneaking a smoke break on a fire escape outside Massey Hall.
Wearing a black baseball cap emblazoned with his "winning" catchphrase and flanked by one of his "goddesses," he came outside at least twice for a puff, tossing cigarettes to those who wanted them.
The self-proclaimed "warlock" seemed to be getting his nicotine fix out of the way before heading inside the storied concert hall.
Ontario law forbids smoking in workplaces and enclosed public areas and a government official had warned earlier Thursday that inspectors would be keeping a close eye on the actor, who has smoked during previous shows.
When a reporter asked whether he'd light up onstage in Toronto, Sheen responded: "No way man, they have strict rules."
Since getting the boot from "Two and a Half Men," Sheen has launched a $100 million lawsuit against Warner Bros. and Lorre, and hit the media circuit with bizarre, stream-of-consciousness musings. He's also tried to trademark his catchphrases, which also include "Rock Star From Mars" and "Adonis DNA."
Still, Sheen's odd behaviour didn't deter Amanda Bhaggu from waiting outside the backstage door at Massey Hall for two hours Thursday in hopes of catching a glimpse of the performer.
"He says a lot of crazy things but he is who he is — he doesn't try to pretend he's somebody else and put on a good show for the media. He just says what's on his mind, so I like that about him."
Scalpers outside Massey Hall said they still had tickets to unload even after Thursday's show had started.
Sheen's team would not provide media passes for the Toronto performance, which was to be followed by an official after-party at the club Muzik.
Sheen is set to play Massey Hall again Friday. His tour is set to hit Vancouver on May 2.
