In the Media

Substance Use/Addiction in the Media

Battling substance abuse and addiction is a tough feat for anyone. However, imagine just how much more difficult it would be battling addiction while constantly in the spot light. This is the everyday reality for celebrities struggling with substance abuse.

When thinking about celebrities in the media who are struggling with substance use problems, several names dominate our thoughts. These celebrities include such names as Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Bynes, Amy Winehouse, and even Robert Downey Jr. For the purposes of this blog, the main focus of this entry will be on Lindsay Lohan; simply because of the recentness and multitude of her struggles.

Both of these young women grew up completely in the spot light. Both were child stars who were wildly successful at a young age. Lindsay Lohan got her breakout role in 1998 starring as Annie James/ Hallie Parker in the film the The Parent Trap (IMDB, 2013). After that, she grew up completely in the public eye; subject to all of the scrutiny and criticism Hollywood has to offer young women.

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She went on to star in several movies such as Freaky Friday, Mean Girls, Georgia Rule, and Liz & Dick (IMDB, 2013). With her fame and money came the constant partying. Soon, Lohan became known as Hollywood’s party girl. Her partying quickly escalated from constant drinking, to drug allegations. This only brought more attention.

In January of 2007, Lohan was admitted to her first stint in rehab (Duke, 2012). However, in May of 2007, she was arrested on a DUI charge after she crashed her car while under the influence (Duke, 2012). Afterwards she checked herself into rehab for the second time (Duke, 2012). This action yet again proved unsuccessful, as two weeks later Lohan was arrested again for a DUI, as well as cocaine possession, and driving with a suspended license (Duke, 2012).

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Her downward spiral does not stop there. Over the next five years, Lindsay Lohan would re-enter various rehabs over seven times (Duke, 2012). In addition, Lohan has made numerous appearances in court for a DUI/car accident, cocaine possession, driving with a suspended license, probation violations, missing alcohol counseling sessions, and even felony grand theft (Duke, 2012).

Over the course of these tumultuous five years for Lohan, she repeatedly violated probation order after probation order by way of continued alcohol and drug use. She entered many rehabs, some of them court-ordered, and did not seem to learn her lesson. However, it appears as though her life in the public eye and relentless media exposure due to her legal issues clearly did not help her ongoing addiction.

However, as of March 2012, Lohan seems to have finally begun to pull her life together (Duke, 2012). She has had positive feedback from her probation reports, and has not failed any drug or alcohol tests (Duke, 2012). In light of her positive reports, the judge assigned to her case had stated: “I know it’s hard when people are following you all over the place, but that’s the life you chose (Duke, 2012).” I feel as though the judge’s statement perfectly sums up the life of celebrities who are struggling with addiction. While it is obviously much harder to deal with these issues in the spot light, they did choose this life.

References

Duke, A. (2012, March 29). Lindsay lohan's troubled timeline. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/28/showbiz/lohan-troubled-timeline

IMDB. (2013). Lindsay lohan. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0517820/