Jan. 11, 2012: Cast members Ashton Kutcher (L), Jon Cryer (C) and Angus T. Jones (R) participate in a panel for CBS series "Two and a Half Men" during the CBS sessions at the Television Critics Association winter press tour in Pasadena, Calif. (Reuters)
Move over Charlie Sheen, another “Two and a Half Men” controversy is exploding.
Angus T. Jones, who has played the role of Jake Harper, "the half" on the hit CBS show since 2003, is featured in a new video for the Forerunner Christian Church, in which he calls the sitcom “filth” that contradicts his devout Christian values.
That’s not all. The 19-year-old actor, who reportedly earns $350,000 an episode, even urges fans to stop watching.
"I'm on 'Two and a Half Men' and I don't want to be on it,” he said. "If you watch 'Two and a Half Men,' please stop watching it and filling your head with filth. People say it’s just entertainment. Do some research on the effects of television and your brain, and I promise you you’ll have a decision to make when it comes to television, especially with what you watch."
Jones goes on to express guilt that his profession may be inflicting serious damage on its audience.
"If I am doing any harm, I don't want to be here. I don't want to be contributing to the enemy's plan ... You cannot be a true God-fearing person and be on a television show like that. I know I can't,” he continued. “I'm not OK with what I'm learning, what the Bible says and being on that television show."
Forerunner Chronicles, the Alabama-based Church, which conducted the interview, was not immediately available for further comment.
Parents Television Council President Tim Winter welcomed the star's criticism of the show.
"If indeed Angus T. Jones meant what he purportedly said, and that this is not just a publicity stunt ... then his comments are welcomed, and we urge viewers to heed his call," Winter told FoxNews.com. "We urge Mr. Jones to work from within the entertainment industry and raise standards to improve television content for the benefit of all Americans."
Jones is reportedly also an attendee of the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Los Angeles, and in recent months has been guided by Voice of Prophecy (VOP) Bible School workers in his quest to understand Jesus better.
“I have always gone to a Christian school since I was in kindergarten, but my faith was basically non-existent… School started to take a back seat more and more through high school. Two or three years ago my parents started have marital issues and started to go through the process of getting a divorce. At the time I also started dating this girl and when I look back now I see that as a time when the enemy was trying to push me in that direction, but God knew he was going to pull me out at the last second,” Jones told the Adventist Media Center on his 19th birthday in October, before delving into his dangerous desire to “run away” from the problems at home and delve into drugs -- although he insists that God protected him from drinking and that he remains a virgin.
“Right when I said what if everything we are doing is not what is supposed to happen, and right then this cleansing phenomenon and presence came into me… I felt like I had just accepted God.”
Jones also addresses the internal conflict associated with his role on “Two and a Half Men.”
“My television show has nothing to do with God and doesn’t want anything to do with God, so it is a strange position I am put in,” he said. “I am under contract for another year so it is not too much of a decision on my part. I know God has me there for a reason for another year.”
The VOP website also draws on Jones’ role on the iconic TV sitcom.
“You've seen the TV show he's a part of, you know that -- in Angus' own words -- the show doesn't want anything to do with God,” said the site. “But this young man hasn't followed the all-too-familiar downhill route of many Hollywood child stars. Instead he's looking up, and he sees his association with the show as an opportunity to share his faith with people who otherwise might never hear the name of Jesus used except in a negative way.”
Jones’ bold statements regarding the show that catapulted him to fame and fortune has attracted some nods of agreement in the entertainment/media industry who agree that the sitcom lauds distasteful content and practices.
“It is no surprise to anyone who watches TV, that ‘Two and a Half Men’ is one of the most vile and sleazy shows in history. Every episode is about sex and the network has bombarded our homes with this garbage for years,” noted Dan Gainor, vice president of Business & Culture at the Media Research Center. “Take your pick, sex talk, sex positions, threesomes -- it's all there teaching America's young people this is how adults are supposed to act.”
His words have also ignited quite the controversy in the Twitterverse -- both for and against.
“If he feels so strongly he should donate his 300k per episode salary to charity,” tweeted one, while another said that it sometimes “takes a smart man to play an idiot,” and another referred to him as an “inspiration.”
But the big question remains: will Jones be the subject of one of Chuck Lorre's vanity card? The "Men" producer signs off each show with a short message, and used that still frame to express himself when he and Sheen were feuding.
The “Two and a Half Men” creator, as well as reps for CBS and Jones, did not respond to a request for comment. TMZ reports that neither Jones nor his rep has made contact with anyone involved with the show regarding his negative comments, and that "Men" execs have not reached out to him either. The sitcom has a rehearsal set for Tuesday.
Stay tuned...
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