Modern Music

The Gathering of the Juggalos will be “winning” this year, as Detroit rap duo Insane Clown Posse’s annual four-day festival has landed an appearance from Charlie Sheen.

Sheen is slated to guest host one of the nights at the fest, Aug. 11-14 in Cave-in-Rock, Ill., ICP’s Violent J said Thursday. “We did it. We secured it, signed a contract, it’s done,” says J, whose real name is Joe Bruce. “He’s coming.” Sheen’s publicist confirmed the booking.

Sheen, who earlier this year hit the road for his “Violent Torpedo of Truth” tour after being fired from CBS’s “Two and a Half Men,” will introduce acts and perform his comedy stylings at the fest, J says. The specific night of his appearance is still being worked out.

J says he booked Sheen because he thinks the group’s fans, known as Juggalos, will embrace him. “To the best of my knowledge, when somebody’s being picked on, when somebody’s being (messed) with, when somebody’s got mainstream America pointing their finger at them, that’s when they do best in the Juggalo world,” he says. “When they’re an underdog, so to speak, that’s when they shine.”

In a number of interviews, including on “The Howard Stern Show,” J mentioned wanting to book Sheen at this year’s Gathering. The two camps talked and a deal was finalized earlier this week, J says.

Sheen joins a lineup of more than 50 performers that includes Ice Cube, George Clinton, Busta Rhymes and members of ICP’s Psychopathic Records family. Also on the bill are a number of ’90s rap acts, including Paris, Juvenile, Mystikal, Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer, along with a smattering of professional wrestlers and comedians.

J also said Thursday that Bobby Brown will perform at the fest, the first R&B act ever booked at the Gathering. More acts will be announced next week, J said.

The Gathering crowd can be a notoriously difficult one; last year Tila Tequila was pelted with bottles, garbage and even human waste during her appearance at the fest. J says as long as Sheen is respectful of the crowd, the Juggalos will warm up to him.

“If he says something bad, it’s gonna be disastrous for him,” he says. “But if he goes out and has the right attitude, if he’s actually interested in where he’s at and all that, then it will go over great.”

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