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Showbiz Tonight
Inside Celebrity Rehab Facilities; Stars That Fought Addiction And Won
Aired July 02, 2007 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
A. J. HAMMER, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT ANCHOR: Rehab of the rich and famous. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT takes you inside the rehab facilities of the stars. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
BROOKE ANDERSON, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT ANCHOR: And what stars can learn from other stars who beat their addictions. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. A special edition of TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now.
HAMMER: On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, prescription for rehab. Tonight, addicted to addiction. So many shocking stories of stars in and out of rehab. TV shows about drug and alcohol abuse. It seems we can`t get enough of this stuff. Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT asks the controversial question, why are we so obsessed with celebrity addiction?
Star couples and addiction. Tonight, a revealing look at what celebrity husbands and wives do when their spouse is an addict.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For a while, I was like, yes, I am going to divorce him. I don`t want to divorce my husband. I love my husband.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: How do they cope? And why do some marriages end up working when others fail? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with a special look at star duos who deal with substance abuse.
Hello. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: Hi there everyone. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. Welcome to a special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, prescription for rehab.
HAMMER: Over the next hour, you`re about to see some startling behavior by some of Hollywood`s biggest stars.
ANDERSON: That`s right. I`m going to take you inside places the stars don`t want you to see, where they go to clean up their drug and alcohol addictions. You`ll be shocked to see how and where they spend thousands of dollars a day -- a day -- to clean up their acts.
HAMMER: But first, it is an unfortunate trend that we`re seeing in Hollywood. Stars from Britney Spears to Eddie Van Halen are among the celebrities we`ve seen who have recently enter rehab. These stories of substance abuse and recovery are now a big draw in celebrity news and now even reality TV.
I got to ask this -- why are we so addicted to stories about addiction?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER (voice-over): Where did Britney Spears spend the better part of the spring? In rehab. Guitar legend Eddie Van Halen and his band mates from Van Halen just got inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But where was Eddie? In rehab. Leaving his band mates to tell SHOWBIZ TONIGHT how much they miss him.
MICHAEL ANTHONY, VAN HALEN BASSIST: Hopefully he`s doing the right thing and he`s going to come out a better person.
HAMMER: Eddie and Britney are not alone. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you in the past year, we`ve seen more talk about celebrity addiction and efforts to kick it than ever before. Chris Rock even joked about it on "Good Morning America."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How are you?
CHRIS ROCK, COMEDIAN: I`m all right. You know, rehab was tough. My hair grew back. And now it`s all about the new record.
HAMMER: You can`t blame Chris for channeling Britney Spears. Addiction and rehab are all the talk in Hollywood.
KATRINA SZISH, "US WEEKLY": One of the biggest trends in Hollywood is to take a break and go to rehab.
HAMMER: Robin Williams recently spoke with SHOWBIZ TONIGHT about his very public stay in rehab.
ROBIN WILLIAMS, ACTOR: Yes, it`s public. There`s no way to hide it on that level.
HAMMER: Sure, stories about stars and the substances they abuse are as old as Hollywood itself, but we`re no longer obsessed with just celebrity addiction. The A & E reality show Intervention draws 1.3 million viewers a week, showing that American audiences are fascinated with real people dealing with substance abuse.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is asking, are we becoming addicted to addiction? Addiction is a real problem in America affecting 23 million people. "Us Weekly" Katrina Szish tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT when celebrities battle addictions they`re on common ground with countless people.
SZISH: When a celebrity admits flaws or admits that they do have a problem with drugs or alcohol or anything else, by going to rehab, they almost make themselves more human. It can be a very good PR move for them.
HAMMER: Sometimes rehab is a part of PR crisis management for celebrities. When photos caught Miss USA Tara Conner partying it up in the clubs of New York City, her boss Donald Trump all but forced her into rehab.
DONALD TRUMP, "THE APPRENTICE": She knows that if she makes even the slightest mistake from here on, she will be immediately replaced.
HAMMER: Tara Conner now tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, she wasn`t exactly traumatized by rehab.
TARA CONNER, MISS USA: It was absolutely amazing. A lot of fun.
HAMMER: But don`t say she did it for the publicity.
CONNER: I don`t think it`s something that you just do for good publicity. It is something that`s -- it`s hard. It is a really hard thing to go through.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My drinking`s killing me.
HAMMER: The reality of rehab is the subject of HBO`s multi film project titled Addiction. Its producer tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT addiction is fertile ground for gripping TV.
SUSAN FROEMKE, PRODUCER, "ADDICTION": More people are willing to come forward and talk about it, because they realize that by speaking out it can help other people. I think that`s one reason why there have been so many shows lately coming out about it. Because I think there`s a big viewership for it.
HAMMER: But it`s about more than good TV. Of the 23 million people with an addiction problem, only 10 percent seek help for it. Susan Froemke from HBO`s Addiction tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT she hopes projects like hers can help change that.
FROEMKE: Most people feel that it`s a hopeless disease. They just think that if you become addicted, your life is over. And that is not true. That`s one reason why HBO was so committed to making this program, to show that there is hope now. There are ways of managing this disease.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was surprised to hear all the drugs he did.
HAMMER: So whether it`s a reality show that gets our attention or celebrity rehab veteran --
WILLIAMS: You fall down, you get back up again and get back in the race.
HAMMER: If it influences those who need help to get it, our addiction to addiction can be a healthy one.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Anything that could potentially get more people to seek treatment for their addictions has to be good. Out of the estimated 24 million people with addiction problems in the United States, just 10 percent are getting help.
ANDERSON: Well, you won`t believe what some of these celebrity rehab centers are like. Whether it is Britney Spears at Promises in the sunny beach town of Malibu, California, or Lindsay Lohan at the posh Wonderland Center in L.A., rehab for the stars doesn`t seem all that different from taking a vacation at the fanciest spa.
Get this, the price tag for a 30-day stay can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Yes, tonight SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is taking you along for an inside look at rehab of the rich and famous.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Welcome to "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous."
ANDERSON (voice-over): You`ve heard of "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous." But lately you`ve been hearing more about rehab of the rich and famous.
BRADLEY JACOBS, SENIOR EDITOR, "US WEEKLY" MAGAZINE: The new trend for young Hollywood seems to be going into rehab facilities that are more like spas.
ANDERSON: That`s right. Gone are the days of tough love. But when you`re rich and famous, rehab doesn`t sound all that bad.
JACOBS: It`s not like the old classic rehab days.
ANDERSON: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you, when it comes to rehab, stars like Lindsay Lohan and Mike Tyson dropped 40,000 dollars a month - 40,000 - at treatment facilities like L.A.`s Wonderland Center for amenities like.
JACOBS: Yoga, and you can go horseback riding and run in the canyon. And there are gourmet meals served. You can have ahi tuna and lobster.
TARA FIELDS, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: You know, there`s nothing wrong, whether you`re a star or you`re a non-celebrity, when you go into treatment, to have body work, you should have a nutritionist; you should exercise, doing yoga, meditating.
ANDERSON: Mel Gibson meditated as Passages` Malibu Treatment Center for close to 60,000 dollars a month after his DUI arrest and anti-Semitic rant.
JACOBS: Passages, which is located in Malibu, offers a gym with personal trainers, a juice bar. And you can even get filet mignon cooked by a former chef at Spago.
ANDERSON: It has SHOWBIZ TONIGHT asking the tough question: is all this high-end rehab nothing more than living it up, instead of living a better life?
FIELDS: And the focus has to be on getting better, not, `Oh, who`s here? Is it Mel Gibson?`
ANDERSON: He wasn`t at Bomand (ph), where Nicole Richie chose to get away from her not-so-simple life. She did it by taking a page from Courtney Love and checking in there for treatment, which left a hole their wallets at the cost of 80,000 dollars a month.
JACOBS: Bomand, where Nicole Richie and Courtney Love went, is fairly swank. They have no more than five people at a time there. You can get anti-aging treatments. There`s a concierge service. People in treatment there even go whale-watching.
ANDERSON: Shamu? Really?
Is all this gratification necessary, or is it simply about making celebrities comfortable?
FIELDS: Being comfortable does not mean that you have your cell phone and you`re doing interviews or you`re going out to a kick boxing class in Malibu.
ANDERSON: Not all rehab treatment facilities give celebrities the spa treatment.
JACOBS: The Betty Ford Center, where Keith Urban went, is one of the holdouts of the old treatment style.
ANDERSON: Not just Keith Urban, but stars like Drew Barrymore as well.
JACOBS: Guests have to do chores, including scrubbing toilets. There are no cell phones allowed. Everyone has a bunkmate. And the food is served cafeteria style.
ANDERSON: So what works best: pampering or tough love?
FIELDS: You need both.
ANDERSON: We`re guessing that`s what Promises alumnus Britney Spears was thinking when she checked into the 48,000 dollar a month treatment center.
JACOBS: Now that place has 500 thread-count sheets, a beautician, tennis, massages, and even meals prepared by what they call "recovering nutritionists."
ANDERSON: With such big stars going into rehab, we also question whether the rich and famous are really getting help, or simply hiding from media scrutiny and the paparazzi.
JACOBS: In some ways, I do think that it is a way to hide out for these young celebrities. They`re tired, they`re exhausted, they`ve been partying too much. So they just go into a rehab center, where they`re treated like kings and queens. And every need of theirs is catered to. It`s really like checking into the Four Seasons.
ANDERSON: It may be posh, but it serves a purpose. It gets a star much-needed help.
FIELDS: When I`m really close to getting the addict or alcoholic to say yes, I start telling them about, "You`ll have private Pilates. You`ll have a nutritionist. There`ll be yoga. You`ll be in your own condo."
I start thinking, `Can I go there, too?`
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: All right, up next I have a very special look at just what goes on specifically inside rehab. Straight ahead, one of the biggest designers to the stars gives me exclusive access to what he`s going through, a revealing tour of a high end celebrity rehab center. We`ve got that coming up. Also this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was awful it. It took over my life. And it was an awful time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: I go one on one with Maureen McCormack. You remember her as Marsha Brady from "The Brady Bunch." I`ve got her emotional, painful story, her story of battling cocaine addiction.
ANDERSON: And star marriages and addiction. I`ve got a revealing, eye opening look at what celebrity husbands and wives do when their spouse is an addict. That`s straight ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, prescription for rehab, all about celebrities and their battles with drugs and alcohol. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. Now, the shocking story of a child star. We all grew up with her. We all loved her show. Maureen McCormick, the "Brady Bunch`s" oldest Brady girl, Marsha Brady, recently opened up to me about her cocaine addiction, how bad it got and how she was able to kick it for good.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAUREEN MCCORMICK, ACTRESS: It got really bad. I`m writing about it now in a book. It was awful. It took over my life, and it was an awful time.
HAMMER: What - what was that rock-bottom moment for you?
MCCORMICK: Rock bottom - there were a lot of rock bottoms. But one was just knowing that if I was to go on, that I could die.
HAMMER: Is it something - you say it -- it took over your life. Was that financially, relationships.
MCCORMICK: Everything. Everything.
HAMMER: And you finally were able to come to grips with it and - and turn it around.
MCCORMICK: Yes, thank God.
HAMMER: And how did that happen?
MCCORMICK: Through therapy and through - what is it? - rehab. They have them everywhere nowadays, but, you know, back then it wasn`t as talked about. But that really helped a lot.
HAMMER: So you did enter a rehab program?
MCCORMICK: Yes.
HAMMER: And that was part of the key?
MCCORMICK: It was part of the key, yes. It was definitely part of the key.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Maureen is not the only star to kick her drug habit. Tonight SHOWBIZ TONIGHT gives you a remarkable look at what it is like when a celebrity goes through rehab. You are about to see my exclusive interview with designer Marc Jacobs. His stuff is worn by Drew Barrymore, Scarlett Johanson, the Olsen Twins. Well, Marc candidly told me his drug and alcohol addictions have turned his life into chaos, disappointment and disaster.
Marc gave me special inside access while doing a 30-day stint at the Passages Addiction Cure Center in Malibu, California.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARC JACOBS, DESIGNER: Hi, everybody!
ANDERSON (voice over): His name is synonymous, all over the world, with cutting-edge fashions.
JACOBS: I just love when girls wear my clothes. It`s the highest, absolute highest compliment.
ANDERSON: Designer Marc Jacobs has been a trend setter for two decades with a loyal following.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think I wear Marc everyday.
ANDERSON: Including actresses Selma Blair and Tori Spelling.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love his stuff.
ANDERSON: Marc Jacobs appears to have it all.
JACOBS: This is like a dream come true.
ANDERSON: But beneath the cool and confident exterior, Marc Jacobs has been fighting a dangerous addiction.
JACOBS: When I pick up a drink, or when I choose to pick up a drug, it gets out of control and I behave irresponsibly.
ANDERSON: We caught up with Marc while he was seeking help for drug and alcohol dependency at Passages Addiction Cure Center in Malibu, an expensive and luxurious rehab facility.
JACOBS: I needed a break. I need to look at what this is about, and sort of -- you know, it wasn`t about a vacation. It was about a therapeutic break.
ANDERSON: Marc`s struggles began with what we describes as a horrible childhood.
JACOBS: I didn`t have the ideal family. I was teased and sort of made fun of by my peers, and I had no one to go to and talk to. I was too full of shame to really approach someone to talk to. I was always looking over my shoulder saying, he`s better, she`s better, they`re better.
ANDERSON: Marc first went to rehab seven years ago, but his sobriety didn`t last.
JACOBS: I started slipping into the thinking of I could have a drink, I can have five drinks. I can have 10 drinks. And you know, this began for me a year ago, in Moscow, on a trip. And I just felt like, oh, everybody`s drinking vodka and I haven`t had a drink in years. I can drink again. So, it really came out of a celebration that I decided to drink, and of course, it progressed.
I`m not happy and full of life like this when I`m holed up in a hotel room, you know, on my third bottle of vodka. And not answering the phone because I didn`t show up for work.
ANDERSON: This is Marc`s second trip to rehab in two months. He left a treatment facility in Arizona after just 18 days to come here to Passages because he felt the group therapy wasn`t working and he needed the individual attention Passages offers. Besides, it`s a center that looks more like a ritzy resort than a rehab, offering tennis lesson, massages and gourmet foods.
JACOBS: We pulled up here, I said, we`re in the wrong place. Because I didn`t believe this was, you know, a drug treatment center at all.
ANDERSON (on camera): Does this seem a little bit like a vacation at the same time, though, because you are a very busy person?
JACOBS: Well, sitting here in a tank top and a pair of shorts with the sun shining, it seems like a vacation.
ANDERSON (voice over): But Marc says it`s far from a holiday, with four to five hours of intense individual therapy every day. A 30-day stay costs nearly $70,000. In addition to regular meetings with psychologists and addiction specialists, there`s also hypnotherapy, acupuncture, relationship and spiritual counseling, unusual offerings for a rehab facility.
JACOBS: I think this is kind of like an eye-opening experience. And the more your mind is open and you are mindful of the world around you, I mean, that`s a spiritual existence.
ANDERSON: Passages rejects the decades-old, 12-step approach and claims addiction is not a disease. Unconventional ideas in the world of rehab, but it`s a mindset Jacobs embraces.
JACOBS: The idea of positive reinforcement through one`s words, and through one`s actions, I think made a lot of sense. I liked the idea of being cured as opposed to being forever an alcoholic, or forever an addict.
ANDERSON (on camera): Do you think a month is enough?
JACOBS: I think for me, a month is enough. I really feel like I could leave today and never drink and drug again. I really do. I mean, it`s been a very powerful experience and one that I will never forget. I`m already thinking about coming back here, not because I have to, but because I just like to around the all people here for another period of time.
ANDERSON: You don`t hear that often. A lot of times people want to leave rehab as quickly as they entered.
JACOBS: Because the environment is more like a hospital or a prison. I think when you make a place that`s so delightful to be in, and when you treat people like human beings, and not as lepers, you know -- or maniacs - - then you inspire this kind of reaction.
ANDERSON (voice over): Inspiration is what Marc hopes his honesty can provide others dealing with addiction.
(On camera): What would you say to other people out there?
JACOBS: We`re all unique and we`re all special. I don`t think there`s a right or wrong. I know that it does me a great service to help somebody else. It always has.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: One of the best known child stars with a shocking secret. Coming up next, I`ve got her chilling story of being a crystal meth addict and how it affected her marriage.
ANDERSON: And, A.J., other star marriages and addiction. I`ve got an eye opening look at what celebrity husbands and wives do when their spouse is the addict.
Also this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Both times I went into rehab, I knew, nobody had to tell me. I said, book me into Betty Ford.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: We often only hear about the stars that just can`t beat their addictions, but there are a lot of success stories. I`ve got the inside scoop on how stars kick their scary habits in rehab on this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, coming right back. ~
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, prescription for rehab. I`m A.J. Hammer. Former child star Jody Sweetin is a survivor of drug addiction. Sweetin starred at Stephanie Tanner on "Full House." No one could have predicted that years later she would battle a devastating addiction to crystal meth. Well Jody told me how she`s now helping others conquer their addictions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JODIE SWEETIN, ACTRESS: I still am not sure if it was completely due to the fact that I was a child star. I don`t know if this would have happened regardless. But there are a lot of pressures and a lot of different things that come with being a child star and growing up in this business that normal kids don`t have to deal with. And it does create certain issues and things like that, but I feel really fortunate that I`ve been able to come through to the other side and really sort of learn how to deal with those things and fortunately get another career started at 24 again. I`m really lucky.
HAMMER: So it is always so terrific when you hear that people are able to come to terms with an addiction, because it can go both ways, as we know.
SWEETIN: Yes.
HAMMER: You were really dealing with the very typical scenarios of hiding it from your family. You were hiding it from if your husband who was an L.A. -- This was your husband at the time who was an L.A. cop.
SWEETIN: Yes.
HAMMER: That had to be leading a double life.
SWEETIN: Yes, it was. You know, it was hard. It was hard. But it`s -- you know what? It`s away for me now. I feel really fortunate that I get to speak about it. I`m actually doing a college tour and going around to different universities all over the country and speaking to college students about my dealings with the drug and how to come through on to the other side.
And I`m using it as something that I can help others with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Jody also told me that her "Full House" co-stars John Stamos, Bob Sagget among them were all very supportive of her and that they all still keep in touch.
ANDERSON: Coming up, I`ve got more shocking stories about star marriages and addiction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For a while, I was like, yes, I am going to divorce him. I don`t want to divorce my husband. I love my husband.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: I`ve got a truly enlightening look at what celebrity husbands and wives do when their spouse is an addict.
HAMMER: And we often only hear about stars that can`t beat their addictions but there are a lot of success stories. That`s coming up on this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(NEWS BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: "Prescription For Rehab". It`s 30 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. You`re watching TV`s most provocative entertainment news show.
HAMMER: And still ahead tonight the secrets of rehab success.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVIE NICKS, SINGER: Both times I went into rehab. I knew. Nobody had to tell me. I said, book me into Betty Ford.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: You`ve got to really admire Stevie Nicks. She`s one of the best success stories out there. She came back from a severe cocaine addiction and is now healthy and happy. We`ll talk to Stevie about how she did it. Take a look at some other stars who are living clean and sober after battling their substance abuse issues.
ANDERSON: But first, star marriages and addiction. I`ve got a really revealing look at what celebrity husbands and wives do when their spouse is an addict. Why do some manage to keep their relationships together when substance abuse becomes a problem, and others can`t? Tonight we look into how celebrity spouses cope with drug and alcohol abuse.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANNY BONADUCE, TALK SHOW HOST: Stocked the mini bar in my room with a full bottle of Absolut. Please, God, I don`t think I`m going to make it.
ANDERSON: Danny Bonaduce and his wife Gretchen have been extremely open about Danny`s long battle with drugs and alcohol on their reality show, "Breaking Bonaduce".
D. BONADUCE: My life is falling apart. I think she`s through with it.
GRETCHEN BONADUCE: He`s a (BLEEP) husband.
ANDERSON: Danny`s 10-year struggle with sobriety was a major part of their marriage.
D. BONADUCE: If I had my way, we`d be doing this interview really drunk. And then I`d try to talk that lady into sex.
ANDERSON (on camera): But luckily we`re not doing it that way.
G. BONADUCE: Thank god.
ANDERSON: Right, Gretchen?
D. BONADUCE: Those days are over.
ANDERSON: Those were the Bonaduces in happier times. After 16 years, of ups and downs, Gretchen recently said they had irreconcilable differences and filed for divorce.
COOPER LAWRENCE, RELATIONSHIP EXPERT: I`m not surprised when a couple does a reality show, then gets divorced afterwards. Because there`s a lot of things that happen in your life that you feel, but you don`t see. You don`t watch yourself. Then you actually get to see how it all played out. And you go, oh, my god, was that me? Was I living that life?
ANDERSON: "One Day At A Time" star Valerie Bertinelli and rocker Eddie Van Halen stuck it out for almost 25 years, but his hard partying rocker lifestyle took its toll. After watching her husband go through several stints in rehab, Valerie called it quits and filed for divorce in 2005.
DAVID CAPLAN, CELEBRITY JOURNALIST: Eddie`s addiction was a key factor in their split. He had a huge problem with drinking and alcohol. And he even had overall problem of addiction to smoking. Eddie Van Halen was diagnosed with a form of cancer from smoking.
He then quit, then after he quit, the cancer eventually went away with treatment. Then like six months after it goes away, the cancer comes back. Valerie was fuming. So this really demonstrated sort of the problem they had in their marriage that Eddie wasn`t really taking it seriously.
LAWRENCE: It`s so hard to be in the public eye to begin with, then throw in a disease, then throw in an addiction. It is just -- it`s too much. People get to the point in their lives where they realize, you know what, this whole marriage, and this whole life is not about you.
ANDERSON: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you those aren`t the only star marriages to crumble under the weight of addiction. Denise Richards left husband Charlie Sheen in 2005 while she was still pregnant with their second daughter. Nasty allegations flew in divorce papers, including charges that Charlie, a long-time party boy, was addicted to pain killers.
Hilary Swank and Chad Lowe split in 2006, less than a year after Swank took home her second Academy Award. It wasn`t long after that she shocked the world with what was going on behind closed doors.
CAPLAN: Shortly after Hilary Swank and Chad Lowe divorced, Hilary gave an interview in "Vanity Fair" magazine, and she said one of the influences in why they split was his addiction problem. Hilary never mentioned what the addiction was and the revelation was really a surprise.
ANDERSON: Cooper Lawrence tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that addiction puts stress on any couple, but when you`re a celebrity, with a huge career like Hilary Swank, that stress can sometimes become unmanageable.
LAWRENCE: She won an Oscar. And all these crazy things going on, she`s enjoying her life. Then her enjoyment becomes stressful instead of I worked hard to get where I am. That`s when resentment sets in.
ANDERSON: But substance abuse doesn`t always mean the end of the road for star marriages. Just look at Sharon and Ozzie Osbourne. They tied the knot in 1982 and are still going strong despite Ozzie`s messy history of drug and alcohol abuse.
SHARON OSBOURNE: Ozzie was not in a good state, health-wise with his drug and alcohol abuse. And, you know, he was out of control. For a while I was like, yes, I am going to divorce him. I don`t want to divorce my husband. I love my husband.
ANDERSON: Sharon`s not the only one to stand by her man. Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban were only married for four months when Keith suddenly checked himself into rehab for alcohol abuse. Three months later he emerged. The couple says they`re stronger than ever.
CAPLAN: He`s at Betty Ford. Nicole Kidman was very supportive while he was in rehab. He`s even written about it on his blog. So, it`s interesting, so this is one celebrity couple that`s actually pretty open about the trials and tribulations that they`ve gone through.
ANDERSON: Cooper Lawrence says being open and honest is the best thing any couple can do, especially when it comes to addiction.
LAWRENCE: Communication is what it`s all about in any marriage, so if a celebrity couple, or any couple, can see that that`s going to be the key to their healthy marriage, then, yeah, communicate, open up.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: There is another addiction in Hollywood, the addiction to being skinny. Earlier this year fashion icon Donatella Versace confirmed that her 20-year old daughter Allegra was being treated for anorexia.
The stunning news got everyone buzzing about eating disorders, both in the fashion world, and Hollywood. So SHOWBIZ TONIGHT wants to know, why are we so obsessed with the thin and addicted lives of big stars? I spoke to Ken Baker, editorial director of USmagazine.com and Jill Dobson, news and style editor at large for "Star" magazine, about this disturbing fascination.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Scary skinny, skinny SOS, there seems to be a -- and pardon the expression -- an insatiable appetite for all things about eating disorders. Whether it is eating disorders, or stars going in and out of rehab, is it that people just get a cheap thrill of watching their favorite stars fall from grace, or is there something more to it than that?
JILL DOBSON, "STAR" MAGAZINE: I think any time you talk about weight, people find it fascinating, because it is something that everybody has dealt with and it affects everyone in America, the struggle of dealing with their weight.
Then when stars take it too far, then we actually get worried about them and we start to point the finger and say, look at this person, she`s too skinny. Please someone take notice about it. So, I think, as our magazine, we`re kind of glad that at least we`re able to point it out.
HAMMER: Yeah.
DOBSON: Versus the fashion magazines that highlight it and say isn`t this model beautiful, she`s 110 pounds and 6 feet tall.
HAMMER: But, Ken, certainly -- and sadly, I think -- that people really do like to watch their idols fall, don`t they?
KEN BAKER, USMAGAZINE.COM: I think what`s at bigger issue here, not to get too academic on everyone, this is showbiz, after all. But really when you think about it, you know, celebrity life, the celebrity problems, they`re just sort of a more beautiful, more glamorous and richer mirror reflecting back on the rest of us.
We`re all obsessed with our weight, OK? Let`s face it. We`re a culture that is obsessed with our aesthetics and our weight. We`re not thin enough. And we don`t look beautiful enough. I think that what happens is we sort of put all that attention on to the celebrities that we follow. And we put so much attention on them that like the media, like "US Weekly" -- we do it, too -- we sort of want to feed that interest and satisfy the curiosities.
But something interesting is at play here that`s not about culture, that is about, really the Hollywood culture. That`s anyone who spent any time in Hollywood, especially around younger females in Hollywood, a lot of them are clearly underweight.
HAMMER: Yeah.
BAKER: You know, clinically. So this is a real problem. It`s not just something that`s a media problem, but it is something that`s actually happening within the community.
HAMMER: That brings me to a point that I really wanted to address. If the super-skinny trend in Hollywood is truly an epidemic, or is it that we`re really just seeing coverage of the same stars, whether it`s Keira Knightley, or whether it`s Nicole Richie or Mary-Kate Olsen, constantly grabbing headlines. They`re big stars who happen to be skinny -- or if we really do have a problem here?
DOBSON: I think we really do. I think in Hollywood there`s been a longtime pressure for celebrities to be thin. And of course, we`ve all heard the idea that the camera adds 10 pounds. But now I think, more than ever, it has become the trend for celebrities to be ultra-skinny. And they actually are too skinny. We`re very worried about them.
And another thing about this issue is when you get a picture of a celebrity where you see every rib, or her entire spine, it`s kind of proof that, wow, there`s really a problem here. That`s why it`s intriguing to people. It is not rumors. It`s actually -- there`s photographic evidence that this celebrity needs some help.
HAMMER: Hopefully we`re doing the right thing about talking about it.
DOBSON: Right.
HAMMER: And people taking notice.
Ken, you would actually think there are actually more stars than ever who are in and out of rehab these days and have all kinds of addiction issues. It would seem almost that rehab is the new anorexia, for lack of a better term, because you look at Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, stars in and out of rehab. Are there really that more stars going in and out of rehab these days, or are we really just talking about it more?
BAKER: It is all of the above. Really what`s happened is that there`s no more stigma for a celebrity to go into rehab. What would happen a lot in the past, say five, 10 years ago, as recent as that, celebrities would hide the fact that they were in rehab, that they were struggling with addiction. But now it has become a badge of honor. The stigma has been released.
People are actually really looked at as sort of a role model for going to rehab and cleaning themselves up. We`re seeing more and more of it, because I think there`s less of a stigma. There`s less hiding.
Now, at the same time, drugs and alcohol addiction in Hollywood, and people going to extremes with the use of those substances, is a problem. OK?
HAMMER: It certainly is a problem. No, we shouldn`t understate the importance of rehab. But it`s interesting that Ken mentions it as a possible badge of honor -- also a good PR move.
DOBSON: Right. And certainly for celebrities like Isaiah Washington, from "Gray`s Anatomy", when he had the slipup, and used a phrase that he probably shouldn`t have used.
HAMMER: Definitely shouldn`t have used.
DOBSON: Yes. He went ahead and checked into rehab to get over that. Sometimes rehab is very clearly a step to say, I didn`t just apologize for what I did wrong, but I`m actually taking action to show all of you that I`m working actively to improve myself.
HAMMER: Jill Dobson from "Star" magazine, Ken Baker, from USmagazine.com, thank you both for joining us tonight.
DOBSON: Thank you.
HAMMER: Well, Brooke, thankfully, it is not all doom and gloom when it comes to stars and addiction. There are some really inspiring rehab success stories. Coming up, Jason Mewes, the guy from "Clerks" and "Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back" talks about how he struck back against addiction that nearly killed him. He really opens up about how low he got, and how he managed to bounce back.
We also have this --
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NICKS: Both times I went into rehab. I knew. Nobody had to tell me. I said, book me into Betty Ford.
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ANDERSON: Another very hopeful story, A.J. Legendary singer Stevie Nicks gets real about how she beat an addiction to cocaine and came out happier and healthier than ever. And we`ll have a look at other stars who have rehab success stories. This special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: "Prescription for Rehab" will be right back.
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HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
Tonight it`s a special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Prescription For Rehab". Tonight celebrities and their path to sobriety. I`ve got a look at stars who have had success beating their addictions by taking it one day at a time.
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STEVIE NICKS, SINGER: Both times I went into rehab, I knew. Nobody had to tell me. I said, book me into Betty Ford.
HAMMER (voice over): Stevie Nicks front woman of the `70s super group Fleetwood Mac getting candid with SHOWBIZ TONIGHT about her nearly deadly battle with cocaine and the powerful tranquilizer Klonopin, and how rehab literally saved her life.
NICKS: I didn`t want to change. I didn`t want to stop doing it what I was doing. People tried to talk to me and I didn`t really listen to anybody.
HAMMER: By the late 1980s, Nicks says her addiction to cocaine was so strong, that the drug had burned a hole in her nose. In 1986, she went straight to the Betty Ford Clinic.
NICKS: I, unfortunately, think that you have to make your own mistakes.
HAMMER: Fresh out of treatment, a psychiatrist put Nicks on Klonopin, the same drug Anna Nicole Smith was given to treat panic attacks. Stevie says she took Klonopin for eight years and was under the influence at Bill Clinton`s 1993 inaugural bash. It was that high-profile moment that drove Nicks to a second stint in treatment.
NICKS: Nobody makes you go to rehab. Believe me, you make yourself go to rehab. Nobody makes you aware that you have a problem. You`re the person that gets up out of bed one morning, and says, I -- this is -- things are going to change.
HAMMER: Stevie`s not the only star to know and beat crippling addictions. Robert Downey Jr. spent most of the 1990s in and out of Southern California courtrooms, jails and rehab centers, hooked on cocaine, alcohol and methamphetamines. Downey couldn`t come to grips with his addiction.
ROBERT DOWNEY, JR.: You know, there`s a reason it is listed in American medical -- you know, in books as a disease.
HAMMER: The headline-making bouts with rehab eventually worked for Downey who is now clean and sober and working in movies like "Zodiac", where he ironically plays a cross-addicted reporter.
On "Larry King Live" Downey talked about the second chance he`s been given at sobriety.
DOWNEY: Part of it is that is largely a moral issue, but I think once you have an opportunity to get the help you need to get out of it, you just have to remember that sometimes that train doesn`t come back around for seven years. It is very specific how many chances you get.
HAMMER: Danny Bonaduce knows all about second chances. Bonaduce went from squeaky clean conniver on "The Partridge Family" to a conniving homeless addict when the show went off the air.
BONADUCE: I was on "The Partridge Family" then I lived between the dumpsters at Grauman`s Chinese.
HAMMER: Danny did countless stints at rehab centers and detox facilities before finally going on the straight and narrow. He`s now open and honest about his addictions on the VH1 reality show, "Breaking Bonaduce."
D. BONADUCE: It`s my nature to fall. And I pray that I can be forgiven.
HAMMER: Danny told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson that as many as 90 percent of rehab patients fall off the wagon. So for him, every day is a statistical victory. Sobriety is something he takes one day at a time.
D. BONADUCE: You and I could wrap up this show and go have a cocktail like civilized people. And I could go home and life would be fine. The next day I think, well, I`ll have two. And within three months to a year I`d be in jail somewhere, that`s just the way it goes. So, no, in the long run, I can`t have just one drink.
HAMMER: "Different Strokes" actor Todd Bridges hit rock bottom after his TV show ended in 1986. In 1989 Bridges was charged with shooting a drug dealer in a crack house after a four-day cocaine binge. He was jailed and later went to rehab.
TODD BRIDGES, FMR. ACTOR: My father was very dysfunctional. He was an alcoholic and abusive.
HAMMER: Bridges tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson the sexual and physical abuse he suffered as a child made him turn to drugs. Religion, he says, turned his life around.
BRIDGES: I may have had problems growing up like any other kid did, but I have completely turned my life around.
HAMMER: Now that Stevie Nicks has turned her life around, she`s got some advice for Britney Spears, who recently completed her own stint in rehab.
NICKS: I love Britney Spears. I would love to say, I would love to go and sit in her room with her and say, like, I`m going to be your mom for a minute. I`m going to really tell you what`s happening. I`m going to tell you how much you will regret all this. But I don`t think until Britney is ready to make a change, for herself, I don`t think anybody can tell her.
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HAMMER: Stevie Nicks is doing better than ever. She is out with a greatest hits CD. It`s called "Crystal Visions: The Very Best of Stevie Nicks".
ANDERSON: Naomi Campbell is speaking out about her struggles with addiction. Naomi kept a daily diary during her five days of community service in New York. And it revealed some pretty stunning stuff about her battle with drugs. Naomi has been in and out of rehab beginning back in 1999, the past eight years.
She writes, "I find solace in sweeping. What I came to realize is that I had to surrender. I`m such a controlling person that I just had to just let go and let something higher than me be in control of my destiny. You have to let yourself become vulnerable again.
Some people can handle a drink or a line of cocaine. But I`ve finally come to realize that for me it is all or nothing. And it has to be nothing. And my life has changed since."
Another inspiring rehab success story, actor Jason Mewes from "Clerks" and "Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back".
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JASON MEWES, ACTOR: It was sort of an eye opener. I was like, all right, I`m not going to be able to work. I have no friends, pretty much. I`m in a house with no heat and electric.
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ANDERSON: Straight ahead, how Jason managed to beat an addiction that nearly killed him. This is special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Prescription For Rehab", is coming right back.
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ANDERSON: For actor Jason Mewes, addiction didn`t just set his career back, it also nearly cost him his life. Jason the star of "Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back" struggled with drugs and alcohol for almost a decade before finally breaking free.
MEWES: This girl I was dating, we were living in Huntington Beach. We didn`t pay the rent, we didn`t pay the electric. We used to light candles to see at night. We left a candle on the arm of the couch. And we fell asleep. And woke up and there was -- you know, it was on fire. And the girl I was dating went and got a bucket of water and like threw it. But you know, I didn`t even -- you know what? The funny part is I really didn`t even wake up from it because I was so high.
ANDERSON: Let`s take you back to the beginning right after the release of "Clerks."
MEWES: I was 21. I remember it was my 21st birthday the first time I did dope.
ANDERSON: Until then Mewes hated the thought of trying drugs because his mother, who died of AIDS, got it from sharing needles. But once Jason started, he couldn`t stop. In fact, during the height of Jason`s career, as he was making movies like "Dogma", "Mall Rats" and "Chasing Amy," he was privately battling his drug demons.
ANDERSON (on camera): You said you had drugs brought to you.
MEWES: Ah, really it was really only "Dogma" that I did it on the set. But "Dogma" was the only one that I was doing it throughout, pretty much. But usually I would get it the night before and bring it with me. There was just probably only a couple of times that, you know, during lunch or whatever, I`d run to the corner store or something, and I`d have someone meet me there.
ANDERSON: Fast forward to 2004 and Kevin Smith`s film "Jersey Girl", staring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. Jason wanted a part in the film, but was a wanted man in New Jersey for violating probation on a heroin possession charge dating back to 2000.
MEWES: He had told me before that, that he wrote the one character for me. I was like, you know, if I get sober, can I do it? He`s like you know what they`re not going to let you do it, even if you got sober because you have the warrant. It was sort of an eye opener. I was like, all right, I`m not going to be able to work. I have no friends, pretty much. I`m in a house with no heat and electric.
ANDERSON: But it was Kevin Smith who would shuttle Jason in and out of rehab. The last time was more than three years ago. And Jason has been sober and drug free ever since. Kevin told me he feels like a father to Jason, a very proud father.
KEVIN SMITH, DIRECTOR: Raising Jason is like raising a son, so much so that when I had my own kid, I was like, this is a cake walk. This guy gave me a run for my money.
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HAMMER: Good to see him doing so much better. That`s it for this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Thanks for watching. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: Have a good one, everybody. Take care of yourself. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. "Glenn Beck" coming up next, right after the latest headlines from "CNN Headline News".
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