Sunday, January 28, 2007

Star Seeks Treatment: An Honest Attempt to Get Better or Simply Image Rehabilitation?

Red carpet season, Sundance, the Oscar buzz; as far as celebrity news goes these days there is much to talk about. However, amidst all the glitz and glamour lurk some darker stories that seem to be taking center stage. Whether flipping through channels or immersed in a favorite news source, stories of celebrities entering rehabiliatation for addictions, illnesses, and general misbehaving are unavoidable. This week people are buzzing about Grey’s Anatomy star Isaiah Washington’s (pictured here at the Globes with his castmates) homophobic comments at the Golden Globes and his recent decision to check himself into rehab. The day after the Globes, actress Lindsay Lohan checked herself into Wonderland treatment facility for personal health reasons. While celebrities and rehab are no strangers, as we watch stars bounce in and out of facilities, it is interesting to consider their goals when entering. Is it really to kick an addiction or simply an easy way to recover from some bad publicity?

The answer seems to be the latter. One wonders how effective a treatment plan can be that allows Lohan to come an go as she pleases and if anti-gay and anti-Semitic sentiments are really something that requires rehab or simply a realignment of beliefs. Rehab is the quick fix, yet ironically in most of these cases it fixes nothing at all. A common saying in the industry is that there is no such thing as bad publicity; I think Mel Gibson (pictured below in his vehicle) would disagree with this. The public can sympathize with alcohol problems, drug addictions, and eating disorders, because many people deal with these issues directly or indirectly in their lives. Yet when celebrities have terrible and offensive outbursts, it is hard to forgive and forget. For Mel Gibson, an anti-Semitic tirade combined with a DUI charge pretty much ruined his career. This behavior was unacceptable and as Entertainment News Editor of Softpedia Elena Gorgan writes, “Hollywood took a stand and expressed a clear desire to shut him out for good. And that it did. His mini-series got canceled, he was bad mouthed in all the newspapers and even threats that he would never work again were muttered. But the greatest hit he took was as a man, a respectable actor and human being.” In the recent case with Washington, while his career will take a beating, he missed reveling in the shows' success, and his spot on Grey’s may be jeopardized, the show and the rest of the cast has received nothing but praise and sympathy with Chandra Wilson just picking up a SAG for best female actor in a drama series and the entire cast for winning best ensemble.

This habit of turning to rehab for misbehaving is not something isolated to stars either; recently former Florida Representative Mark Foley checked himself in for an alcohol addiction shortly after a scandal involving e-mail exchanges with teenage boys. Crisis management experts explain that entering rehab in the twenty-four hours following any kind of disaster is critical. “You want to move from being a Frankenstein monster to become more sympathetic, more human…as quickly as possible,” says Richard Levick of Levick Strategic Communications. However, even with these drastic actions, inexcusable behavior by high-profile stars is something that cannot be fixed by rehab or really anything other than sincere apologies and time, although, in other cases rehab can be just the thing to get a star back in good graces.

Lindsay Lohan’s treatment decision, while still very recent, has received little but praise and support, fans just wishing she gets well and applauding her for taking a much-needed step. Lohan, an image professional already, reassured her well wishers by releasing the statement, “I have made a proactive decision to take care of my personal health. I appreciate your well wishes.” Similar cases include Kate Moss, who after being caught using cocaine suffered a loss of several large modeling contracts, but reemerged stronger than ever. In an ABC news report “Running to Rehab” Anne-Marie Dorning claims that Moss’s “career barely skipped a beat” after her treatment. Babyshambles front man Pete Doherty (pictured here with girlfriend Moss) and actor/infamous rehab-junkie Robert Downey Jr. are among many of the stars that have also emerged from rehab with little damage to their careers and often a better image. Although, an improved image does not equal better health and it does not appear these stars are kicking the addiction and getting well.

In most cases once stars leave rehab, they quickly relapse and find themselves right back in another facility. This is a concern for Lohan who exits Wonderland all the time, here shown on a recent errand, and is slated to begin production on a film sooner than may be advised. She has already tried Alcoholics Anonymous and had several hospitalizations, so it may be no surprise if her rehab is unsuccessful. Perhaps Pete Doherty best demonstrates this. Softpedia’s Gorgan writes, “The truth is the man, as talented and gifted a musician as he is, probably needs more than just a simple admission to rehab. Because what he suffers from is more serious and tragic at the same time than a mere pill-popping addiction, especially, considering the great number of times that he’s been a patient of those clinics.”

The critical question lies in why stars enter rehab at all. If it is really to get better and there is that determination, eventually they will. However, if they see it merely as image rehabilitation as many do, the problem will never be solved. Dr. Thomas Irwin, program director at McLean Center at Fernside makes this final point very clear when he says, “Individuals need to ask themselves, what is the motivation for treatment? Is it to work on the problem…or avoid a crisis? Part of…treatment is to come to terms with what you’ve done and take responsibility for it.” These are wise words, but a message that appears unlikely to penetrate Hollywood’s thick skin.