Image Credit: CBS/Mitch Haddad/LandovThe hedonistic Charlie (Charlie Sheen) will once again have his hands full when Courtney the crazy con-artist returns to his beachside villa in the CBS comedy Two and a Half Men. An insider confirmed to EW that Jenny McCarthy will reprise her role for several episodes beginning Nov. 22.
McCarthy — last seen on Chuck and In the Motherhood — first began playing Courtney on Men in 2007. At 15.2 million, Men remains the most-watched comedy on broadcast TV.
Read more:
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails
Sign up to our free breaking news emails
Jenny McCarthy has criticised Charlie Sheen for not being “upfront” about his HIV diagnosis when she played his love interest on Two and Half Men because she had physical contact with the actor.
The actress played Courtney Leopold, Sheen’s girlfriend and future step-sister in eight episodes throughout several seasons of the show.
The 43-year-oldhit out at her former colleague on SiriusXM radio, where she compared being HIV positive to the cold sores she has had to disclose in forms ahead of acting jobs.
She said: “For years I’ve signed this piece of paper and now, being on Two and a Half Men myself, and playing a love interest you would think that there would be some type of, I don’t want to say criminal issue, but I don’t even know how to feel about that.
Charlie Sheen: Life in pictures
Show all 10“I’m like, wait a second, if I have to be upfront about a herpe, how can you not be upfront about HIV?”
Responding to her claims, Sheen’s management told Peoplehe contracted HIV "long after" working with McCarthy on the series.
Sheen, 50, revealed he is HIV positive in an interview on the Today Show on Tuesday following numerous scaremongering tabloid stories which hinted at an ‘A-list actor’ who’s left ‘panic in Hollywood' due to having the disease.
He was diagnosed with the virus three or four years ago and told Matt Lauer it was “impossible” he could have infected anybody else.
HIV lives “in the blood and some body fluids” and is transmitted in semen, vaginal fluids, breast milk and blood. It can not be passed on through kissing.
McCarthy, who claims to be "STD-phobic" acknowledged this, but added: “This would have been some valuable information, look how many people have played his love interest on the show.”
Prior to her marriage, McCarthy claimed she would ensure her sexual partners signed forms confirming they have no infectious diseases. “I wouldn’t sleep with anybody until I got the right paperwork, so the fact that playing his love interest on the show, I go like ‘ick, ugh, that’s not fair’.”
McCarthy did offer some sympathy for Sheen in light of his HIV-positive status, but claimed he had consequences to face. “He’s sick and it’s awful, but man he’s going to have to take some major accountability with many people in his life.”
- Jenny McCarthy and Charlie Sheen have a history
- After starring in Two and a Half Men together, there was tension
- Jenny reportedly attacked Charlie Sheen after the show
For Jenny McCarthy and Charlie Sheen, an on-screen romance erupted into controversy in 2015.
McCarthy had featured as a guest star on Sheen's sitcom, Two and a Half Men, for a stretch of episodes in 2007. She played "Courtney Leopold," one of the many girlfriends of Sheen's "Charlie Harper."
Fans enjoyed McCarthy's time with the series — but they didn't expect to relive it nearly a decade later. That's just what happened, though, when Sheen went public with his HIV-positive diagnosis in 2015 and McCarthy angrily responded.
Two and a Half Men: Jenny McCarthy attacks Charlie Sheen
The unexpected war of words began in November 2015, when McCarthy addressed Sheen's revelation on her radio show. Her comments came two days after the actor went public with his HIV-positive diagnosis, which he said he'd been aware of since 2011.
McCarthy said: "Playing even his love interest on [Two and a Half Men], back in the day, I go, 'Ick! That's not fair. It's scary.' I have sympathy for him because, you know, he's sick and it's awful, but man, he's going to have to take some major accountability with many people in his life."
Two and a Half Men: Jenny McCarthy on her radio show.
(© Getty Images)
She continued, "Before we do a job, we have to sign a piece of paper that says, 'Do you have cold sores?' You would think that there would be some type of—I don't want to say, not criminal issue, but I don't even know how to feel about that.
"I'm like, wait a second, 'If I have to be up front about a herpes, how could you not be up front about HIV?' I look back and I'm like, 'OK, that would have been some valuable information. Look how many people have played his love interest on the show. Not that you can obviously get it through kissing, but still, that's a big deal'."
But McCarthy, who's known for her controversial anti-vaccine and healthcare views, was largely criticized for her comments, seeing as she and Sheen shared only a kiss, light contact, and set spaces on Two and a Half Men. The actor's manager debunked McCarthy's accusations, too, releasing a statement that said: "Charlie was infected long after he left Two and a Half Men and long after he worked with Jenny."
Following the backlash, McCarthy clarified her comments in a Twitter statement, with emphasis on the industry double standard. "I am very aware that HIV is not spread through kissing, but I also believe that if an actress has to disclose all of her business before kissing a male co-star, that actor should be required to disclose something [as] major as an HIV diagnosis," she wrote.
Also Interesting:
Charlie Sheen blasts Jenny McCarthy's "maths skills"
Sheen himself later addressed McCarthy's comments in 2017. "Your maths skills are s**t, I didn't have it then," he said on an Australian radio show. "If she's listening, Jenny, you're an absolute rock star and a doll, but my gosh."
"Jenny McCarthy should go back and murder her maths teacher. Why? Because her simple maths skills are s**t," the actor, who's no stranger to wars of words, added.
But the rift between the former co-stars appears to have ended with Sheen's reopening of the controversy in 2017. In recent years, the ex-Two and a Half Men lead has made headlines primarily for his efforts at improving his health.