Leave Britney (and Lindsay and Amy and...) Alone!
While we're talking about celebrities, we can't ignore the ones who
are the examples of what NOT to do. Nearly every day, it seems, there's a new story about a celeb gone wrong: drug and alcohol abuse, drunk driving, "crazy" behaviors, teen pregnancy... It's so easy for them to spiral out of control, and all too often, their addiction or untreated mental illness leads to tragic consequences.
But what about the celebrities who pull themselves out of that downward divebomb, who get into treatment and turn themselves around? They are the ultimate role models -- people who finally admitted they had a problem and put in the hard, painful work to try to get their lives back. What a learning opportunity for regular people who may be going down that same path, though outside of the glare of the cameras. And how important it is to remember that once you take away the paparazzi, the money and the fans, celebrities are just people, and have the same emotional issues as the rest of us (maybe more).
Brian Dyak, President and CEO of the Entertainment Industries Council (EIC), wrote a passionate defense of celebrities who go through rehab on EIC's relatively new blog, Getting Reel About Art and Life (thanks to Melissa Havard for the pointer). He writes:
Well said.
Graphic Credit: Nazaret
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