Troubled star Charlie Sheen breaks Twitter world record

Sheen has attracted 1.3 million followers on the social-networking site Twitter since joining on Tuesday, gaining his first 100,000 followers before even posting a single tweet. The Guinness Book of World Records has now confirmed he’s broken the record for reaching a million followers in the fastest-ever time.

The 45 year old who is the most highly-paid TV actor in America has been in the spotlight after a string of high-profile outbursts.

Messages of support for Sheen flooded into Twitter earlier after he lost custody of his children following a court order against him last night. His ex-wife Brooke Mueller has claimed Sheen refused to hand back the children last Saturday before threatening to decapitate her.

‘Unemployed winner’

Sheen describes himself as an “unemployed winner” on Twitter and refers to his children a number of times, writing “My sons are fine… My path is now clear… Defeat is not an option..!”

His first-ever tweet to the world opened with his motto “Winning …!” He went on to create a “tigerblood” hashtag – a reference to his comment that tiger blood ran in his veins, which quickly became the No 1 trending topic on Twitter.

His latest message was equally defiant, “Ready for my next fastball, world? PLAN BETTER Applies to everything where an excuse now sits. Try it. U won’t be wrong. Ever. #PlanBetter”, he tweeted.

It comes after a war of words with the studio and producers who shut down his hit CBS show Two and a Half Men short of the season’s end after Sheen briefly checked himself into a rehabilitation centre. He now plans to sue for $14 million in lost earnings and has vowed to regain custody of his children.

In an interview with NBC’s Today show on Thursday, Sheen said he was “very calm and focused” about having the children taken away and that he was ready for a legal battle.

Outside his home which he shares with his two girlfriends – adult film actress Rachel Oberlin and rehab nurse Natalie Kenly – he was asked by reporters if he was surprised by the order. “Yeah, I was told a restraining order was being delivered and I thought, ‘OK, I can deal with that.’ And it was revealed that it was something much more serious,” he said.

The court order follows days of media interviews by Sheen, as part of a publicity campaign to disprove that he is a drug addict unfit to work on US TV’s number one comedy.

“Your face will melt off and your children will weep over your exploded body.” Charlie Sheen

On Monday he was interviewed three times on US television, calling his boss a “maggot” in one appearance on CBS. On ABC he said: “I am on a drug. It’s called Charlie Sheen. It’s not available because if you try it once, you will die. Your face will melt off and your children will weep over your exploded body.”

Sheen has been involved in a series of high-profile incidents throughout the last year, culminating in the stint in rehab in January that led to his show being axed.

In August last year, he pleaded guilty to assaulting Brooke Mueller. She claimed the actor threatened her with a knife after she told him she wanted a divorce.

Two months later he was admitted to hospital for a psychiatric evaluation after police were called to a New York hotel room where Sheen had caused $7,000-worth of damage. An escort was found locked naked in the bathroom of the hotel room.

Speaking at the time to Channel 4 News his father Martin Sheen, who had his own battles with substance abuse around the same age as Charlie, said he would always support his son.

“He’s an extraordinary guy. And he’s going through a very difficult addiction,” he said.

“Whenever private pain goes public, it’s a very obvious cry for help. And we have to be present to him and understand where he’s coming from and be ready to supply the help” he said