FlipBoard
In what I’ve got to believe is the first example of notable television news breaking on a thrice-rhyming-named radio program, Dr. Drew announced on the Zach Sang & the Gang show that he is officially done with Celebrity Rehab, due mainly to people yelling at him whenever one of his patients dies. And seeing as five former cast members have passed away, that’s a lot of yelling.
“I don’t have plans to do that again, ” Pinsky said. “I’m tired of taking all the heat. It’s just ridiculous.”
Pinsky, who starred in and co-produced five seasons of Celebrity Rehab, said that doing the show has become too stressful for him, due to the fact that everyone is quick to point fingers at him when one of his celebrity patients relapses.
“It’s very stressful and very intense for me, ” Pinsky said. “To have people questioning my motives and taking aim at me because people get sick and die because they have a life-threatening disease, and I take the blame? Rodney King has a heart attack and I take blame for that?” [Today.com]
On one hand, he’s right. It’s not really fair to blame the doctor for the patient’s illness, especially when that illness is addiction, because addiction suuuuuuuuuucks and patients end up relapsing 50-90% time, depending on where you get your numbers (and how you define “relapse”). But on the other hand, there was always something that made my skin crawl about the concept of a show where people used rehab as a way to jump-start their struggling careers, and as a doctor I know once said of Dr. Oz, “Never trust doctors who spend a lot of time on camera.” So I’m not exactly heartbroken that the show is over.
In conclusion, here is a picture of a goat on a leash dragging a woman across a field. Have a nice day.
Image via Shutterstock, goat pic via
![[avatar]](https://profilecdn-woven.netdna-ssl.com/photo/51/profile)
Good, he’ll have more time to be on Love Line
Yup. Drews a good dude too..
Doug Stanhope said it best:
[www.youtube.com]
“You’d step over a dozen dying winos in the street to get to Lindsay Lohan’s bedside. You ambulance chaser to the stars.” Fuck Dr. Drew.
do you know ANYTHING about what you’re fucking talking about? see, this is why idiots shouldn’t be allowed to have opinions. basing everything you believe on what you see on TV, and a stand-up comedian’s bit. retard.
I don’t know him personally or anything, but do some fucking research. the guy has genuinely dedicated his ENTIRE LIFE to treating chemical dependency of all kinds. he’s a practicing, board certified physician who currently treats people of all walks of life, not just celebrities. there was been a lot of criticism of him, for sure, but for the most part anyone who has been treated by him as nothing but good things to say about him.
I’m not a fan of his per say but I’ve heard a ton of Loveline, and I’ve listened to a bunch of the new Dr Drew/Adam Corolla podcast. You can’t listen to those and tell me he’s not a genuinely caring individual that just wants to help people.
Blaming the doctor for a bunch of addicts dying is like blaming the nurses in the AIDS Ward for their patients passing away. Addiction is a very serious, very deadly disease. Pinsky is rich and successful from all of his appearances and whatnot, sure, but he fucking deserves it for being extremely smart and dedicating his life to curing people. What he doesn’t deserve is morons like you talking shit about him.
Did you even watch what I posted? Basically Dr. Drew is hocking junk science and piggy-backing on and exploiting washed up “celebrities” to build up his own. I’m not blaming him for those that have died, but also going boating with Gary Busey and having cameras shoved in your face while you are detoxing is not healthy or upping anyone’s chance of getting sober. Celebrity Rehab is a joke and trash like most other reality TV and Dr. Drew should lose his license.
kazo….not sure what you think is “junk science” so I won’t speak to that….however, one could argue that by making the process of rehab palatable and understandable to the average (or below average) American, he’s doing a service to his profession.
My wife and I watched all the seasons (I like washed up celebrities) and I can honestly say I have a lot more empathy for those who struggle with addiction than I did before hand. Were it not for the interest in some of those minor celebrities, we wouldn’t have watched the show. We wouldn’t have just watched a show about Rehab. But because of it’s existence, I can honestly say I am a more open-minded and better person (however slight the improvement may be).
Now if Dr. Drew would just make a show called “‘It’ can’t have possession of anything” then I would be further improved.
@TFBuckFutter I see what you mean, and appreciate you writing an intelligent and polite response (unlike dirtynouveau) I guess seeing these struggles could help some people empathize and plus it can be fun to see what some has been stars are up to.
I myself was a very bad drunk for many years and eventually quit when I had had enough. I didn’t need expensive rehab or AA or Jesus. If you want to quit, REALLY want to quit, you can and will. If you don’t, you won’t. It’s that simple, and that’s why I call what he is hocking junk science. They are over-complicating sobriety and babying these adult children and that’s why the relapse rate is just as high as it has always been.
kazo, I actually used to hold the same opinion as you, because I have always been very strong willed and have quit many habits (bad or not) just because I decided to.
But the older I get, the more I realize we aren’t all wired the same. In fact, I don’t think any two people are wired the same. Will power is no different than pain tolerance….it varies wildly. You can’t just berate someone for being weak and lazy and think that will work. Negative reinforcement works awesomely on some people, while other people need to be babied because they aren’t as strong and confident.
Obviously people have to take responsibility for their lives and their behavior, and for those who are successful at rehab going to rehab is an example of them doing it.
But a lot of people go without committing….just like they make a New Year’s resolution to quit smoking and then smoke a week later while someone else decides in March to quit smoking, goes on Nicorette and that’s all they have to do. Which is why someone like Lindsay Lohan is so frustrating because we all see how many “Oh” moments she should have noticed, but she’s too goddamn stupid to get her shit together. But in that situation we’re viewing HER life with OUR brain.
Is Doug Stanhope quote worthy?
The problem with Dr. Drew is that he applies ONE philosophy to treatment (which is the AA version) and he doesn’t allow for alternative ways of handling addiction issues. Addiction is a complex issue and there is no one right answer that will help everyone. By going on TV and radio (and yes, I used to listen to Loveline back when it was only in LA and the co-host was Poorman) and sprouting the “Dr. Drew” way, he is doing a disservice to all the people that are looking for answers and can’t find them.
Yes, it is good to draw attention to issues and to help others empathize, but getting rich off of other people’s problems is and always has been slimy.
@kazo – my response to your ignorant comment was way more intelligent than yours, seeing as how you quoted a fucking comedian and a bunch of bullshit came out of your mouth. you obviously have absolutely ZERO clue whereof you speak. so politeness? nah, not for it. you go on the internet spewing a bunch of crap, you’re gonna get crap thrown in your face in return there, buddy.
like I said, I don’t know Dr Drew at all other than watching him on TV, listening to him on podcasts and reading about him online, but any idiot with a brain (who doesn’t carbon copy his opinions from comedians or bullshit editorials) can see right through criticism and base opinions on FACTS. stop being a “me too” hater and use your mind for once.
“Yes, it is good to draw attention to issues and to help others empathize, but getting rich off of other people’s problems is and always has been slimy.”
Zactly.
Dr. Drew’s opinions do tend to be very pathetic. Obviously, it is not his fault those people died. But he did not at all give them the best care possible.
Dr. Drew won’t do celebrity rehab anymore?!? But who will step up in this national crisis to help euthanize our has-been stars?
I don’t know why, but it makes me happy when shows I’ve never watched get cancelled.
Danger…you may have posted the pic of the lady getting dragged by that goat as a metaphor for people that want to “hold on ” to their destructive addictions. I’m not really sure since I am not inside your mind. Which may be exactly the point, as TBuck pointed out, that we are not all of the same mind or wiring.
I think that some people are holding on to their beliefs that doctors can cure us of all of our ills, in the same way that lady is holding on that goat and getting dragged.
As far Drew making money on others problems, well isn’t that pretty much what all of us do? I am just a simple gardener but am I not making money on my clients garden problems that they can not solve themselves. I think this can be applied to almost any profession. I’m not a big fan of Drew or any reality show- but I’ve seen a few episodes when it first aired and it seemed as though he was pretty sincere in his efforts to help people.