“They Tried to Make Me Go to Rehab”

“They Tried to Make Me Go to Rehab”

THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY’S ADDICTION TO PERFORMERS’ DOWNFALLS MUST CEASE By Rachel Hale, Culture Editorial Assistant

This October will mark 15 years since Amy Winehouse’s landmark “Back to Black’’ multi-platinum, recordshattering album won over the hearts of American music fans. But on a more somber note, 2021 will also mark a decade since the star was tragically found dead of alcohol poisoning in her London flat. Beneath the glamour of the entertainment industry, a history of wronging female performers puts on a show darker than any of Winehouse’s soulful ballads.

Winehouse’s innate charisma, iconic winged eyeliner and colorful mix of jazz, rock, pop and soul made her an instant it girl on the music scene in Britain and America. Yet tracks like “Rehab” foreshadowed the demons that would eventually overcome her. Throughout her career, Winehouse’s team denied she had a drug problem,1 but the singer’s final performance in Belgrade showed the signs of her decline: she showed up over an hour late, slurred the words of songs she’d sung hundreds of times and left the stage multiple times midperformance. The death of the star was heartbreaking, but not surprising — as is the case with many performers, the industry broadcasted her signs of struggle to the world instead of considering the implications behind them, failing to provide the help Winehouse desperately needed. While Winehouse’s story is well known, she is not the first or last to fall victim to a vicious cycle of fame. Perhaps the earliest known is Judy Garland. The child star signed her first record deal at just thirteen2 and faced significant criticism of her image throughout her career, sometimes referred to by producers as the “fat little pig with pigtails.”3 She had her teeth capped and wore rubber discs to change the shape of her nose,4 and was directed to limit her diet to black coffee, chicken soup and cigarettes. By the time she filmed “The Wizard of Oz,” Garland was on a well-balanced diet of amphetamines

1 Gil Kaufman, “Amy Winehouse Cancels More Shows Due To ‘Health Issues,’ Denies Serious Drug Problems,” MTV News, August 16, 2007 2 Colin Bertram, “Judy Garland Was Put on a Strict Diet and Encouraged to Take ‘Pep Pills’ While Filming ‘The Wizard of Oz’,” Biography.com (A&E Networks Television, December 10, 2020) 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid.

“They Tried to Make Me Go to Rehab”

THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY’S ADDICTION TO PERFORMERS’ DOWNFALLS MUST CEASE Culture Editorial Assistant • Graphic by Jade Christensen, Social Media and Marketing Director

and barbiturates. Her performance put her on the yellow brick road to fame, but beneath the heartfelt story of a girl from Kansas was a reliance on drugs and an eating disorder that would impact Garland for the entirety of her career, eventually leading to a fatal drug overdose just a few weeks after her 47th birthday.5 Unfortunately, Garland’s story is far from uncommon. Once youthful talent is discovered, casting directors and producers are quick to push stars into the limelight of movie previews, night show interviews and commercial deals galore. Yet once they succumb to the pressures brought about by paparazzi, relentless press and critics, they are ousted from the spotlight as quickly as they were ushered in. The allure of fame and adoration is enough to keep young stars coming, but at what cost? At some point, we must question whether these stars’ tragic falls from grace are more inevitable than avoidable in an industry that makes a profit from their downfall. Some victims of the industry’s game are receiving renewed attention through social media campaigns and documentaries, as is the case with pop sensation Britney Spears. The New York Times documentary “Framing Britney Spears” delves into the conservatorship that has controlled Spears’ finances and estate since 2007 and covers the #FreeBritney movement that arose as a result. The sweetheart of the early 2000s burst onto the scene with the hit track “...Baby One More Time,” offering a presence equally innocent and sensual in an era otherwise ruled by boy bands. At the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards, Spears appeared to be on top of the world — her sophomore album had sold over 20 million copies, she was dating ‘NSync frontman Justin Timberlake and had already graced the covers of magazines like Rolling Stone and People. But when pressure from constant performing and incessant paparazzi led to a decline in her mental and physical health, the cameras were ready to watch her downfall. In February of 2007, she famously shaved her head in an act of defiance and was seen days later using an umbrella to attack a photographer’s car and then speeding away from the gas station. Her publicized inner turmoil became

5 Josh Mapes, “Judy Garland: Troubles From the End of the Rainbow,” Biography. com (A&E Networks Television, September 30, 2020). a punchline for talk show hosts, nightlife TV and tabloid publications; at the peak of her breakdown, pictures of Spears sold for upwards of a million dollars.

During vulnerable moments when Spears and others clearly needed compassion and guidance, the industry instead brought them scrutiny. In articles like Newsweek’s “The Girls Gone Wild Effect,”6 stars like Spears, Lindsey Lohan and Paris Hilton were hounded as being less-than-admirable by parents concerned about their children “being bombarded by images of oversexed, underdressed celebrities who can’t seem to step out of a car without displaying their well-waxed private parts to photographers.”7 Yet these images and a sex-oriented culture existed long before Spears’ dance moves headlined tours and Lohan’s ginger locks graced film screens, indicating that the problem is less transparent than articles about Spears walking around pantiless would suggest.8 These female stars are expected to simultaneously be ground-breaking artists and downto-earth role models for America’s youth in a celebrity culture that finances and feeds off the sexual and risqué, creating a paradox unfeasible to navigate. Moreover, the general misogyny of the entertainment industry undoubtedly contributed to the unraveling of many performers. In the case of Spears, Timberlake poured gasoline on the fire of the singer’s downfall, publically putting the failure of their fouryear relationship on her through his track “Cry Me a River.” Timberlake’s treatment points to the industry’s widespread acceptance of sexism that allowed stars like him to continue causing damage (lest we forget the 2004 Super Bowl outfit mishap that devastated Janet Jackson’s career but barely made a dent on Timberlake’s reputation.) While male stars experience harsh press scrutiny and pressure from the entertainment industry, they are not subject to the same kind of up-the-skirt photos taken by a

6 Kathleen Deveny, Frederick M. Hess, and Pedro A. Noguera, “Girls Gone Bad: Celebs and Kids,” Newsweek, February 11, 2007 7 Ibid. 8 Serjeant, Jill. 2007. “Britney Ditches Her Panties, Raises Eyebrows.” Reuters. Thomson Reuters. January 20. male-dominated paparazzi business or held to the same unreachable standards of an industry that profits off sex appeal yet shames women for expressing sensuality on their own terms.

Yet, as invasive as paparazzi and tabloids are, they wouldn’t continue publishing if people weren’t buying their work. Behind the entertainment industry are consumers themselves, who pay for gossip-laden publications and yellow-journalism headlines, neatly compiled behind glossy magazine covers. After the death of such entertainers, many are quick to express outrage at the same paparazzi and tabloid companies from which they themselves subscribed; the general public plays a role in these stars’ demise every time they send a link to a rash headline or unsightly photo, only further encouraging the media to continue.

Asif Kapadia, director of the 2015 documentary “Amy” detailing the singer’s life, pointed out that the industry requires the support of fans to continue on with its treatment of stars, explaining that, “it’s the industry, and it’s the consumer, and I think that’s the thing. It’s the fans who were buying tickets to see her when she was not well. It’s the people egging her on and buying her a drink in a pub in Camden, so they could say, ‘I had a drink with Amy Winehouse.’”9 While Spears rebounded, other stars were more ill-fated, such as Anna Nicole Smith, Janis Joplin and Whitney Houston. Many more, including Amanda Bynes, Demi Lovato and Lindsey Lohan endured the industry’s dark side. Though we see these stars as ours for the taking, they are more than just a presence on stage — they’re a mother, daughter, sister or friend. When recounting these complex stories, it is crucial to consider the role both the industry and the general public plays, and to hold each accountable. Winehouse made a great impact during her time on earth, but it’s impossible not to wonder how much more she could’ve done had she received the proper resources she needed. While performers like her may be remembered in their glory, it would be better to have them still here on earth — whether or not their art continued. ■

9 Collin Brennan, “Amy Winehouse: Where Should the Media Have Drawn the Line?,” Consequence of Sound, July 6, 2015