The tabloid-y blog The Hollywood Gossip is reporting that, via the latest issue of classy, trusted periodical Life & Style magazine, Justin Bieber is “lucky to be alive.”
Bieber’s Woes
Why? Because apparently he nearly died recently at a party at his own house in Calabasas, California, after overdosing on sizzurp when he chugged twice as much of the gross-sounding concoction as usual. An anonymous insider told the mag that his friends had to “put him in cold water to revive him. Then they made him throw up.”
The rag goes on to describe how Biebs’ off/on fellow-celebrity love Selena Gomez will be forced to give a deposition in the lawsuit filed against Bieber by a photographer who says the admittedly bratty-sounding young star “kicked him in the stomach.”
The mag makes a big production out of the idea that Gomez will be forced to “spill his secrets.” But…who says he’s got any crazy secrets to spill? All the speculation about Biebs’ supposed addiction is still just that—speculation. Does he sound like an entitled, obnoxious young star with a penchant for partying? Sure. Does this automatically qualify him as a full-fledged addict? Not necessarily, though I admittedly wouldn’t be surprised if he was one. He has gotten a DUI and addiction runs in his family—his mom Patti has spoken out about her own troubled youth, including details about how she’d had issues with drugs and alcohol way before Justin was born.
Media Making It Worse
But the broader problem is the media’s constant rumor mill, the hyperbolic gossip blogs constantly crowing, serving as judge and jury on who’s a super-crazy-fucked-up addict and who’s…not. This obsession with other people’s demons is dangerous in its own right, especially when we’re talking about, essentially, adolescents. Biebs, not to mention his girlfriend Gomez (who’s been dragged into the fray with him), Amanda Bynes and even Lindsay Lohan—these stars have barely had time to graduate high school, much less figure out who they are and what kind of life they want or need. It makes me sad that they hardly have a chance to live before they’re tossed to the wolves to be torn apart for our enjoyment.
If Bieber is indeed an alcoholic or an addict, I hope he gets the help he deserves. Until he’s willing to accept help, though, I vote that we stay out of it and let him lead his life in peace. If that’s even possible.
Photo courtesy of Joe Bielawa (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) via Wikimedia Commons (resized and cropped)
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