Celebrity Drug Problems: Talent Equals Tolerance
Thirty years after his death, Elvis Presley still remains one of this country’s most recognized and most revered entertainers. The same can be said of Marilyn Monroe. Both are cultural icons that left us far too soon. Both had well-documented battles with drugs. So, if Lindsay Lohan or Britney Spears were to meet the same tragic fate, would their images remain imprinted on t-shirts and lunch boxes thirty years from now? Some may choose to argue, but my uneducated guess would be NO!
In fact, it appears that the American public is not allowing Lindsay, Britney, Paris, Nicole, and the like to fall from our good graces because they have displayed some sort of substance abuse problem, but rather because they simply lack the talent to back it up. Scott Weiland was arrested and jailed numerous times for heroin use and possession. It cost him his band at the time, Stone Temple Pilots. However, just a few years and a few jail sentences later, he now fronts the very successful Velvet Revolver. If you look closely at most of the bands who sold millions of records in the 80’s, you will find at least one member who has been through rehab. Record sales for Aerosmith, Guns ‘N Roses, and Motley Crue hardly seemed to skip a beat when their members admitted to drug or alcohol problems. Vince Neil was behind the wheel and drunk in an accident that killed a member of the band Hanoi Rocks. Motley Crue’s career grew even bigger years after that incident.
Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix all died in their twenties at the hands of substance abuse. Despite the abrupt and tragic end to their careers, their music stands the test of time. Do any of us believe that high school kids will be eagerly downloading Britney’s music twenty or thirty years from now? Even if she’s still making music at that time, it’s hard to imagine it would be considered cool. The reality is that celebrity substance abuse is acceptable, so long as the celebrity can give us what we want - real talent.
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