Charlie Sheen captured the American public’s attention during the past few weeks with one of the most dramatic and public celebrity meltdowns in history, making Mel Gibson and Gary Busey look like amateurs. Sheen’s history of drug use, erratic behavior and domestic violence allegations were often overlooked by executives because of the success of the TV sitcom “Two and a Half Men.”

However, CBS decided to halt the show’s production for the remainder of the current season—and later fired Sheen altogether—after the actor repeatedly attacked series creator Chuck Lorre in a number of interviews on Feb. 24, calling him a “clown,” “charlatan” and a “stupid, stupid little man,” among other things. Sheen’s downward spiral didn’t stop there. In a whirlwind of televised interviews and intense media attention, Sheen went on record uttering some of the most absurd phrases to ever escape a celebrity’s mouth.

He told NBC’s “Today Show” he had “tiger blood” and “Adonis DNA.” He said he cured himself of drug addiction with “the power of [his] mind.” He continues to refer to himself as a warlock in the majority of his tweets and public comments. With each interview and each statement, Sheen seems increasingly out of touch with reality.

Thanks to the Internet, the world is enjoying every ridiculous second of Sheen’s implosion. Each new absurdity is delivered to us as it spews forth from his mind. The Web exploded with countless images plastered with Sheen quotes, including, naturally, hundreds of adorable photos of cats. People have replaced the captions from New Yorker cartoons with deranged Sheen quotes. His Twitter feed gained 100,000 followers within an hour of its creation before Sheen wrote a single tweet. He broke a world record when he gained more than 1 million followers in a mere 24 hours.

Sheen first made headlines with his shocking comments. But as he continues to careen off the deep end, it’s hard to justify all the coverage he’s been receiving. Sure, all of the things he says are so bizarre they become pretty amusing, but people seem to overlook the fact that they’ve been using a man with severe mental and emotional problems as an entertainment source.

The American public and media are, bluntly put, exploiting a mentally ill individual. Rants that should be telling us Sheen needs serious help are turned into cheap jokes, higher TV ratings, increased page views and higher advertisement revenue. He is exhibiting symptoms common to manic-depressives and drug addicts. Sheen is growing more delusional by the day, and we think it’s hilarious.

DeadSpin.com obtained Sheen’s cell phone number and posted it online for the world to see. Jezebel.com Editor-in-Chief Jessica Coen called him, failed to identify herself as a journalist and played phone tag with him before ultimately failing to have a conversation with him. Because it’s hilarious to mess with unstable people, right?

All the attention Sheen is getting only seems to encourage him. He doesn’t have to face the fact that he has a problem because that problem has turned him into more of a superstar than his acting ever did. We are fueling his delusions and making them worse.

Sheen has a history of unstable, violent outbursts against women in his life. He has pleaded guilty in domestic abuse cases twice, all while insisting every allegation brought against him was a lie. Sheen “accidentally” shot a girlfriend in 1990. He was arrested for beating several girlfriends and ex-wives throughout the years. He was jailed on Christmas Day 2009 for allegedly strangling, threatening to kill and holding a knife to the throat of his wife at the time.

Sheen is obviously a disturbed person, and this is nothing new. He’s needed help for a while, and if he hasn’t gotten it by now, all the attention his antics are earning him certainly isn’t going to make him start.

That’s not to say we should necessarily feel sorry for Sheen. He was a wealthy, successful actor who had every opportunity to lead a stable life. If he squanders all of that away, that’s his deal. But we, as a society, should reconsider how funny his breakdown really is. Once you look past Sheen’s bizarre verbal diarrhea and inflated ego, the whole situation is actually rather depressing.