In early November, the National Enquirer published a story in which actor Dominick Brascia, an alleged friend of the late Corey Haim, accused Charlie Sheen of having sex with then-13-year-old Haim on the set of their 1986 film Lucas. Sheen quickly pushed back against the claim, telling The Hollywood Reporter that he “categorically denies these allegations.†Now, the Anger Management actor is reportedly suing the Enquirer and its parent company for defamation for publishing the allegation, which ran with the headline “Charlie Sheen Raped 13-Year-Old Corey Haim — Shocking Claim.â€
According to Sheen, the National Enquirer didn’t published the accusation simply in service of a story. The editorial decision, the actor alleges, stems from Sheen’s decision to scoop an impending Enquirer story about his being HIV positive, which the actor disclosed himself in an interview with Today’s Matt Lauer in November 2015. According to the complaint filed by Sheen’s attorney, Shane Bernard, “[T]he editor of National Enquirer, Defendant Dylan Howard, is running the story against Mr. Sheen because of a personal vendetta that arose after he was unable to be the first to break the story that Mr. Sheen was HIV positive.†Sheen told TMZ with regards to the lawsuit, “In my nearly 35 years as a celebrated entertainer, I have been nothing shy of a forthright, noble and valiant courier of the truth. Consistently admitting and owning a laundry list of shortcomings, wrongdoings and indiscretions this traveler hath traveled — however, every man has a breaking point.â€