I assume that there are people in the world who love Kelsey Grammer (besides his friends and family). Though not particularly good looking or charismatic, there must be actual fans of the comedic actor who has had an impressive amount of success for playing just one character—Dr. Frasier Crane (or some variation of Dr. Frasier Crane). For whatever reason, the archetype of the droll, Ivy League-educated stiff whose attempts to navigate life among common people just tickles us; perhaps satisfying our underlying resentments towards pompous intellectual types. But a recent post in Radar Online has me wondering if Frasier was just a likeable and uber-euphemized version of who Grammer really is.
He Played One on TV
Once busted for drunk driving and coke possession, the man who got famous for being a regular on Cheers admits that he turned to a 12-step program to help him through his troubles. But apparently, those were just legal as he has now put the unsavory experience in his past and feels compelled to shame anyone who is still holding a grudge against their alcoholism. “People need to know how to move on and put things in another place,” he explains (Grammer may not be an addiction expert or a psychiatrist, but let me remind you that he did play one on TV).
What the man with the famous fivehead really wants everyone to understand is that, yes, he may have experienced some public humiliation and unmanageability in his life because of drinking and drugging (see The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills) but upon further research the thespian academic has determined that alcohol is not a vice. Grammer stopped going to those pesky meetings and now says he enjoys a drink every day. And by “enjoy” he means adamantly demands that no one bother him for five minutes while he has his cocktail—words of a man who is clearly free from the bondage of addiction.
Where He Draws The Line
As many of us say, our hats are off to Grammer and his new found ability to drink in moderation. But if you are hoping to make him your pied piper of rehabilitated partying, you should know that the 61-year-old admits to only enjoying one drink (how many he actually has after that is unclear) and that cocaine is still persona non grata in his house. The one he shares with his fourth wife and their two children.
Unfortunately, the sheer nonsense of alcohol addiction is not the only controversial opinion Grammer is outspoken about. He also wants his fans to know that the fight for reproductive rights is dishonest. He believes all women have a choice about getting pregnant before they conceive (the same way he he chose to get busted for a DUI and possession of cocaine). He thinks if a woman is raped, then it’s the rapist who should be put to death, not the child. Which makes me wonder if Grammer—a Republican and avid supporter of Donald Trump—is considering throwing his hat into politics? Because a pro-lifer petitioning for the death penalty for countless college frat boys is something—unlike an episode of Frasier—I wouldn’t want to miss.
Where I Draw The Line
But my no matter how I may feel about Kelsey Grammer’s stance on woman’s rights or the 12 steps, I respect his right to think and say whatever he wants; this is America after all. But as a sober person who has witnessed the sometimes unfortunate effect of celebrity influence, I feel a responsibility to point out that people who are happy generally don’t need to tell others how to live. Perhaps Grammer is angry about all of those years he lost to not drinking, years that he could have spent further taxing his liver, and wants to send a warning about the dangers of sobriety. Or maybe he feels like a hypocrite, having once gone public as a reformed drinker and now amending his declaration. But whatever his motivation is for attempting to take a crap on people who are just trying to better their lives I say, “Sometimes people need to know how to move on.”
Photo courtesy of Tenebrae (talk) (Uploads) (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
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