It seems that you don’t have to be a down and out loser to be an addict! In Hollywood more and more “stars” are attending rehab to battle with their addictions.
Hollywood makes addiction seem glamorous?
All too often we hear of the tragic news of yet another Hollywood death through drugs. In this report from Hispanic Business we catch up with the feel around the subject.
Whitney Houston’s death last month from accidental drowning and the effects of cocaine use and heart disease throws a bright light on a dark corner of the world of celebrities who wrestle with substance abuse.
The toll of celebrity addiction — to street drugs, prescription medications, alcohol or a mix — is long and mournful, and it seems particularly heavy right now because of the deaths of Houston, 48, and Amy Winehouse, 27.
And not just them: In recent years, Michael Jackson, Heath Ledger and Anna Nicole Smith have succumbed to overdoses; going back further, the list includes John Belushi, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and Judy Garland.
Americans these days can’t escape the steady stream of news about celebrities and their controlled substances. Take Lindsay Lohan, 25. After years of erratic behavior, multiple arrests and five stints in rehab, Lohan says she has cleaned up her act. She promised to stay away from drugs and alcohol, and she completed her comeback gig as host of Saturday Night Live March 3 (ratings were good but reviews were mixed).
Recent weeks also brought news that actor Gerard Butler (300), 42, and comedian Artie Lange, 44, both completed rehab for addiction and are back working. Yet actress Demi Moore, 49, who was hospitalized after smoking something that gave her convulsions, sought “professional assistance” for her problem. And actor Alex O’Loughlin, star of CBS’ Hawaii Five-0, has announced that he would take time off to get “supervised treatment” for pain medication prescribed after a shoulder injury.
