Britney’s done it. Lindsay’s done it. Charlie’s doing it – sort of. Many celebrities do it and they enjoy it so much they do it several times. It starts with reports of stars suffering from exhaustion and/or dehydration and by the time tmz and perez hilton have uploaded pictures and reports of, well, unflattering obviously intoxicated appearances in the L.A. nightlife by the big name in question, they’re already off, “seeking help for medical and personal issues”, doing what you have to do these days as a celebrity: Rehab.
Artists (and some stars might qualify as artists, at least with regards to their lifestyle) have always been known for their affinity and struggle with chemical substances and alcohol. But whereas in the past most of them have tried to sober up privately, today these trials and tribulations have become more and more transparent. Certainly the sensationalism and insane growth of tabloids and semi-serious publications that sell based on the gossip they spread have done their part to drag these personal issues of celebrities into the public. Facilities like Promises in Utah or the Mecca of celebrity detox, the Betty Ford Clinic, have become common destinations and well-known locations for personalities from TV, Movies and the music industry.
As a society, we struggle with addiction. Are these people to blame for their fall from grace or are they victims of a disease that troubles people from all social backgrounds? Can we sympathize with them because after all they’re rich, famous and beautiful? Isn’t it their choice to excessively engage in self-destructive behavior?
Well, it depends. Most vulnerable to this downward spiral seem to be child stars. You can get away with quite a bit, because as soon as the news hit that another former child performer has checked into rehab, questions arise about how these kids are supposed to deal with the temptation of drugs at such a young age, with all eyes on them, ready to judge. “Oh, they’ve never really had a childhood.”
Britney Spears’ career saw a renaissance after she rebound from her massive meltdown. Everyone’s favorite Catholic school girl shaved her head and raised serious doubts about her abilities as a mother. But now she has rebound and seems more popular then ever. She’s the comeback kid and therefore forgiven.
But then there’s Lindsay Lohan, once beloved mean girl, whose popularity has seriously dipped. It’s been too long since we’ve seen her in a movie and even longer since we’ve seen her in a halfway decent movie. Countless car crashes, jail time, parents you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy plus a lot of drugs have effectively ruined her career beyond repair. There’s a certain time window in which you can play the misguided-child-star card and it seems this window has closed for her.
Most recently television’s highest paid actor, Charlie Sheen of Two and Half Men has checked into rehab – at least for a little bit. After hitting the Las Vegas Trip with a bunch of prostitutes and publicly beefing with the producers of his hit show, it seems air is getting thin for him now. He’s always been known for his excessive lifestyle (ask Heidi Fleiss) but at this point everyone’s had with him.
Celebrities dealing with their addictions seems to work in two ways. It can either become part of their public persona’s narrative and, especially if they successfully overcome their demons, add to their popularity, by making them seem more human. But it also feeds into people’s unpleasant desire to see rich people mess up their lives and lose their privileges. Either way, most importantly it helps to keep People magazine in business.