Charlie Sheen's camp brand name-checking strip club 'parasites'

Charlie Sheen threatened to sue bosses of a sushi-serving strip club over allegations they used his name to promote their VIP room without his permission. Photo / Supplied

Charlie Sheen doesn't approve of people nibbling sushi off strippers - at least not when his name's being used to promote it.

According to the New York Post, the Ma-Sheen threatened to sue bosses of a New York City strip club over a VIP room named in his honour.

Executives at Cheetahs Gentlemen's Club in Manhattan set up the "Charlie Sheen Room" last year, at the height of the comedy actor's well-publicised meltdown.

For US$250 a pop, patrons could chow down on sushi off one of the club's near-naked dancers, or "goddesses", while surrounded by "grinning pictures" of the erstwhile Two and a Half Men star, reports the Post.

Sam Zherka, president of the company that owns the club said of the nudie sushi room: "We figured it would be comical to name a room after him. It was a room where you could dine on sushi served on cellophane on the body of one of our entertainers, not where you do crack."

Note the could.

Sheen's lawyer Marty Singer failed to see the humour, and swiftly fired off a cease-and-desist letter to the club, demanding the room be dismantled, and Sheen's name and images be removed.

Singer says the club did not have permission to use his name, while Zherka claims he was told the VIP room would be "detrimental" to Sheen's reputation.

No comments from the peanut gallery.

"Then we got notification from his lawyer to cease and desist, claiming the usage of his name would be detrimental to his persona," adds Zherka. "They said they would sue us for millions if we carried on.

"How could sushi damage Charlie Sheen's reputation? We thought dedicating a room to dine in his honour would help repair and elevate his image. He should have called us up and thanked us," Zherka added.

Nonetheless, Zherka asserts he has complied with the legal letter.

"We have now removed his name, he wasn't doing big business for us anyway. We had a little ritual and threw his image in garbage - a celebration of Charlie Sheen being dumped," he said.

Singer added: "We sent a cease-and-desist letter and they complied. This matter has nothing to do with Sheen's reputation. You can't use any celebrity name to promote a business without permission. They had no right to use his name."

Sheen's camp also put the kibosh on the club's plans to invite members of the media to a "Art of Body Sushi" party in the VIP room, says E! News.

"Charlie has nothing to do with this and it is unfortunate that these despicable parasites have not been exterminated," fumed the Anger Management star's rep, Larry Solters.

Still #Winning, eh, Charlie?

Update: Scandal sheet TMZ reports that the club has now refused to change the name of its "Charlie Sheen" room.

The club's defiant owner says he has no intention of backing down, and will throw a "naked party" in the VIP space today.

So what does Sheen's legal team have to say about the turnaround?

"The club's ongoing efforts to attract media attention by using Charlie Sheen's name and mischaracterising the nature of his legal claims are more blatant attempts to promote the club by wrongfully exploiting my client's publicity rights without his consent."

Blogger's Briefs

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