The Sorry State of Hollywood

A few people asked me why I never posted about Heath Ledger's death (or Anna Nicole Smith's death last year, for that matter). The reason why is twofold: 1) I find these things extremely depressing, especially when children are left behind, and 2) If I don't think I can say anything that hasn't already been said about a topic, I try not to post about it.

But yesterday I read something related to Heath Ledger's death that motivated me to address it. It seems that Entertainment Tonight and The Insider had both paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to procure a video tape that showed Heath at a "drug party" at that Chateau Marmont in Hollywood. They were going to broadcast it this week, but then both shows backed out at the last minute, even after running tons of promos for it. You can see the promo for The Insider, which includes some clips from the video, here.

I was shocked that these two shows had a change of heart. The celebrity gossip media is not known for caring much about who their accusations affect. Apparently this time around, however, they caved under pressure from the Ledger family. All I can figure is that they are suckers for Australian accents, because seriously, these shows NEVER take the high road. I don't even think they were threatened with lawsuits, I think they just did the right thing for once.

The damage from the video is already done, though. From the clips that have been circulating around the Internet, it is clear that Heath had a drug problem, regardless of whether or not that's what he actually died from last week. And it makes me very sad. Because for every celebrity that most people know is screwed up, there are countless others who have kept their issues well-hidden. When I heard that Heath had died, I gasped out loud. We all have a short list in our heads of famous people who we fear could meet an untimely end at any moment. Heath Ledger was not on my list. And my heart goes out to Michelle Williams and her poor daughter, who will probably not even remember her father. It is a sad, sad situation.

Speaking of sad situations... we come to the latest Britney Spears drama. I haven't posted about Britney in a while, either, because she just upsets me. And because that's all you hear about these days. However, last night, as you may have heard, she was taken to the hospital again in a parade of police cars, helicopters and whatnot. Apparently the emergency vehicles surrounding Britney's ambulance stretched the length of a football field. That is INSANE. You would think it was the Presidential motorcade or something. Anyway, this has lead many to suspect that this latest trip to the hospital was well planned out ahead of time, in order to keep the paparazzi away. It was Spears' psychiatrist who made the call to the hospital to come get her, and her parents are with her now.

For the sake of her two sons, I hope this time they get her some real help and keep her in the hospital for as long as it takes to do so (the last time she left in a matter of hours). And I hope Dr. Phil keeps his freakin' mouth shut about it all this time. And I hope they keep those two ultra-creepy dudes, Osama "Sam" Lutfi and Adnan "I'm married but obviously milking this for all it's worth" Gahlib, AWAY FROM HER. Who are these losers and why do they have any control over the situation at all? Apparently there was a fight at the UCLA Medical Center about who actually had power of attorney for Britney--this Sam reject or her PARENTS. Ummm.... should there really be a question here?

And finally, I sincerely hope that this situation does not end tragically.

Let's all be glad we're not famous. Famous people are screwed up.

- e