Celebrity Rehab: Not as Glamorous as Teens Think

By Jane St. Clair

It's a familiar picture: A lovely young starlet dressed in the hottest fashions and dating the most popular male film star is all over the tabloids, drinking and drugging at glamorous nightclubs and restaurants.

Flash forward to this same starlet dodging cameras on her way to a drug rehabilitation center, as her press representative begs her fans to applaud her decision to get help, admire how she's facing her addictions with courage and to “please – just give her space.”

The press depicts celebrity rehab that way. As one writer said, “Checking into rehab is a defining rite of passage: the all-absolving, career-rejuvenating, Barbara Walters-placating ritual ... a fixture of our culture as far back as 1983 when Liz Taylor entered the Betty Ford Clinic.” 

Addiction and celebrity appear to go hand in hand. Some celebrities who reportedly have had problems with substance abuse are Johnny Cash, Dick Van Dyke, Drew Barrymore, Dennis Rodman, Mackenzie Phillips, Gary Busey, Kelsey Grammer, Elvis Presley, Naomi Campbell, Melanie Griffith, Liza Minnelli, Kate Moss, Michael Jackson, Tatum O’Neal, Gary Dourban, Whitney Houston, Ringo Starr, Richard Pryor, Mariette Hartley, Alice Cooper, Grace Slick, Rob Lowe, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Robert Mitchum, and Matthew McConaughey.

Many celebrities enter drug treatment facilities after they are arrested for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol or for possession of illegal substances. Some celebrity arrestees are Paris Hilton, Diana Ross, Nicole Richie, Snoop Doggy Dog, and Michelle Rodrieguez. 

Setting a Bad Example

More than half of the people in substance abuse treatment who are not famous are also involved with legal authorities, yet these facts are rarely mentioned in media reports. In one 2008 study of celebrity DUIs, researchers found that the media avoided the issue and how such behaviors endangered the public, even though these are “teachable” moments for young fans.

Celebrities also set bad examples by going in and out of addiction treatment programs. The truth is they are notoriously difficult patients. Like Michael Jackson, they can afford to retain private physicians as staff members. These doctors often become “enablers” instead of healers. One expert found that celebrities sometimes “shop around” until they find a physician they can control.

Celebrities often have a sense of entitlement, believing they are so special that the rules do not apply to them. One study found that celebrities are 17 percent more narcissistic than members of the public. 

Michael Scott, who works at Sierra Tucson, a renowned drug rehab facility in Arizona that has treated many famous people, says the entourage around celebrities often sabotages their efforts to end addictions.

Celebrities also know that admitting to an addiction gives them good press and can get them out of bad situations, such as fights, car accidents, moments of bigotry and so forth. By focusing on rehab, they avoid depictions of themselves as sexual predators, out-of-control alcoholics or people with severe psychiatric problems.

Prone to Addiction?

Dr. Drew Pinsky, an expert on celebrity rehabilitation, says that famous people are more prone to addictions for a variety of reasons. Many are dependent on the adoration of fans and suffer when their reviews are negative or overly inflate themselves when things go their way. These extreme highs and lows, coupled with the fact that they live in a drug-friendly environment, make celebrities more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol.

Dr. Pinsky believes people admire celebrities because the entire culture had adapted narcissistic values. Everyone wants to live like celebrities. There is actually a phenomenon of celebrities imitating celebrities, such as Lindsay Lohan’s Marilyn Monroe photo shoot, where she dressed in Monroe costumes and makeup. No one looks at the fact that Monroe died of a drug overdose.

Indeed, dying young and dramatically seems only to enhance the appeal. The stories of the recent deaths of Anna Nicole Smith, Heath Ledger and Michael Jackson dominated the news for weeks.

Dr. Drew believes that his reality show, “Celebrity Rehab,” is a way of de-glamorizing substance abuse among the rich and famous. However, the show has its detractors, including the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers. Their statement reads in part, “The show trivializes the treatment process. … It takes advantage of and uses people in deep distress.”

Talking to Your Teens

Parents of teenagers are often concerned about how much their children admire celebrities who are not good role models. Teenage girls tend to be more susceptible to celebrity worship than boys because they are under pressure to be thin and beautiful, and are looking for role models with those attributes. 

It is worrisome to parents that celebrity role models routinely abuse drugs or alcohol. In one study of “The Osbournes,” a reality TV program with over eight million viewers, researchers found nine messages per hour of the Osbournes using drugs, tobacco or alcohol. Most showed them verbally rejecting the substance but visually endorsing it.

Parents need to have the conversation with their teenagers about celebrity behaviors. Do their favorite celebrities show a pattern of serial marriages and a poverty of commitment to relationships? Why do they endanger others with their out-of-control driving? Why is it glamorous to die of a drug overdose? Why don't they get help and follow medical advice? 

Addiction is, after all, a treatable brain disease. As one expert said, teenagers are like sponges of our culture. If parents don't intervene to discuss celebrity values and worship, that's where kids will go.