Mindy McCready is fifth 'Celebrity Rehab' death in two years
Credit: VH1
VH1's 'Celebrity Rehab' is no stranger to controversy. The series has had its detractors, who felt the show cast a salacious light on the suffering of addicts, filtering their suffering through the prism of reality entertainment. Yet defenders believed that the reality series offered an insightful, moving portrait into the struggles of wayward souls.
Unfortunately, the show is now under fire for a different reason, as the death of country singer Mindy McCready marks the fifth death in the series over a two-year period.
The 37-year-old McCready died Sunday of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, following the recent death of her boyfriend David Wilson under similar circumstances. In response to this tragedy, Celebrity Rehab host Dr. Drew Pinsky issued the following statement:
“I am deeply saddened by this awful news. My heart goes out to Mindy’s family and children. She is a lovely woman who will be missed by many. Although I have not treated her for a few years, I had reached out to her recently upon hearing about the apparent suicide of her boyfriend and father of her younger children. She was devastated. Although she was fearful of stigma and ridicule she agreed with me that she needed to make her health and safety a priority. Unfortunately it seems that Mindy did not sustain her treatment."
Pinsky goes on to add, “Mental health issues can be life threatening and need to be treated with the same intensity and resources as any other dangerous potentially life threatening medical condition.” Drew would go on to reiterate the effectiveness of treatment, despite the tragic outcome for McCready and others. “Treatment is effective. If someone you know is suffering please be sure he or she gets help and maintains treatment.”
McCready was featured on the show’s third season, seeking treatment for addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs. Tragically, two other cast members from that season ultimately succumbed to their demons: Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr, who died of an overdose of prescription drugs two years ago; and former Real World cast member Joey Kovar, who died as a result of an overdose on opiates last year. That's three out of nine cast members from one season of a reality TV show. Two other former cast members also passed away: Rodney King, who was found dead last June with marijuana, cocaine and alcohol in his system; and Jeff Conaway, who died as a result of complications from pneumonia.
Though VH1 has insisted that 'Celebrity Rehab' has not been canceled, despite the show having been put on indefinite hiatus after its fifth season, the network had no comment on McCready’s passing or the rising body count among its former cast mates. The network ultimately launched a celebrity-free version of the series last year, simply titled Rehab with Dr. Drew. While Pinsky defended his former series as "progress, not perfection," there remains the dubious ethics of offering free rehabilitation in exchange for the right to film the process. Is it a fair trade, or is it taking advantage of the vulnerability of addicts? Regardless, it's unlikely the celebrity version of the series will come back, in lieu of this unsettling statistic.
Full story: Entertainment Weekly
