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Sheen said on a recent podcast appearance that he wrote the "joke" check for her birthday one year, "and then, like a month later, she f--king cashed it."
update at 6:30am PT on 10/24/25
Denise Richards has denied Charlie Sheen's story that she cashed a $1 million check he gave her as a prank -- and shared receipts.
Taking to her Instagram Story on Thursday, Richards shared a photo of the check in question -- written by Sheen in December 2011.
She added, "Found this during my recent move. I never cashed it, @charliesheen. Is it still good?!"
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Charlie Sheen paid a high price after a very expensive prank backfired to the tune of a million dollars -- payable to his ex-wife, Denise Richards.
The actor opened up about the whole thing during this week's episode of the KFC Radio podcast with Kevin Clancy, per Us Weekly. "I wrote a check to Denise once for $1 million on her birthday, kind of as a joke," he shared, "and she kept it not as a joke."
Sheen added that "then, like a month later, [she] f--king cashed it."
The Two and a Half Men alum admitted that he wasn't sure if the two had still been married at the time -- saying he couldn't decide which situation would be "funnier" -- but he was sure he'd never actually intended or expected her to actually cash the check.
"Yeah, which makes it sting more?" Sheen asked about whether it would be worse if it had happened during the marriage or after. Regardless, though, he admitted, "If I’m on the other side of that, I’m probably cashing that check."
The move did catch him off guard though, with the actor joking that she could have given him the heads up that she was going to do it.
"Hey, you sound like you’re driving somewhere," he imagined him saying to her on the phone, with her responding, "Yeah, to the bank, actually."
"But I guess there’s gratitude that there was enough money in that account for that check not to bounce," Sheen added.
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View StoryClancy agreed, "You’re doing pretty good if you can accidentally give people a million bucks."
Sheen and Richards first wed in June 2022, welcoming daughters Sami, 21, and Lola, 20, along the way. Richards would file for what would ultimately become an ugly divorce while pregnant with Lola in March 2005. The divorce was finalized in November 2006.
Since then, the exes have come to better terms with one another, with Richards even agreeing to appear on his mea culpa September docuseries on Netflix, a.k.a. Charlie Sheen, which unpacked the wild ups and downs of his tumultuous life in the spotlight.
Talking about seeing him at the premiere for his documentary on September 4, Richards posted to her Instagram: "What a journey we've had -- so many ups and downs. But when life gets tough, deep down we both know we can count on each other. I'm so proud of him, and truly honored he asked me to be part of his story."
