The man of the hour (the last 24 hours, actually) is currently holed up at home in Los Angeles—with little likelihood of stepping out in public anytime soon—so the burden has fallen to Denise Richards, who is in the midst of the worst-timed publicity tour ever.
Or best, depending on how you look at it.
In any case, Charlie Sheen's ex-wife (and pre-debacle companion) made her way to the Today show this morning, ostensibly to promote her new show. Guess what dominated the conversation instead?
Good old Chuck.
While last night Denise appeared on The Joy Behar Show and admitted that she "helped" Sheen to the hospital, this morning she denied responsibility for having phoned 911 in the first place.
"The thing that I will say is I did not call—I wasn't screaming or freaking out—I did not call 911," she explained. "Other than that, the details of what went on in the room, what went on that night, I prefer to keep private and personal."
The media clearly do not feel the same way, as reports—one more scurrilous than the last—have been spilling out since yesterday morning. While Sheen's rep insisted an adverse reaction to medication that caused all the problems, photos of a trashed Plaza Hotel room have since surfaced, and in addition to tabloid reports of copious drinking and drug-taking, the most persistent rumor is that a naked prostitute was found yelling and locked in the closet of the room when officials arrived.
But while Richards admits to knowing all the particulars of the evening (she should, she stayed in the room across the hall), she isn't talking.
"My daughters are very unaware of what happened. We're really trying to protect them. This is Charlie's…if he wants to discuss it, I'll let him do it. But at the moment, I don't want to say anything."
As for Charlie's current situation, the latest in a rather predictable pattern of behavior, Richards is still holding out hope for a turn-around.
"I have a lot of faith in my ex and I am concerned about our children and my concern is to keep them protected, and thank god they're five and six and they still cannot just turn on the computer or the television to watch the news. That's where my priority is, is keeping them safe and secure and not knowing what went on."
So far, so good.
"We came out here together. We had a great time. The girls are unaware of anything, so as far as they know, they had a great time with their mom and dad in New York.
"Charlie will always be a part of my life, we are bonded together forever. No matter what the situation is, he's their dad. It was unfortunate what happened, I can't control what happened, all I can do is move forward."
Via every morning show in the country.