Twitter fast-tracked Charlie Sheen account

The troubled actor's verified account, @charliesheen, appeared on the social network on Tuesday, and has already attracted almost 1.2 million followers. He took over the account from a squatter, after a series of defiant TV and radio interviews in which he denied addiction problems.

Ad.ly, a firm that specialises in celebrity endorsements on Twitter, said it acted as a broker between Mr Sheen and the social network.

"Based on trusted relationships with our executives, Charlie's management team reached out to us," a spokeswoman told GQ.

"Right off the bat, we realised that Charlie's voice has no contemporary. We knew he had one speed: go."

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