04-05-2004, 11:35 AM
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#1 (permalink)
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All Possibility, Made Of Custard
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Why Rock Stars Shouldn't Procreate
I just read two stories, back-to-back, which remind me once again that you don't need a license to be a parent. All you need to do is fuck. And just because you're a rock star doesn't let you off the hook on good parenting.
The first story I read (links and text are below) was on Kelly Osbourne going into rehab for "addiction to painkillers." Ozzy's addiction problems aside, all you need to do is look back and reflect on the exploitation of this family (and glorification of their attitudes) to see why both Jack AND Kelly wound up in rehab.
The second story I read was about Courtney Love going on The View to complain about her daughter being rejected from the school she wants to attend. She is upset because she feels that her daughter has been stigmatized because of Love's behavior, and she's "ready to pop them." ("Them" being the school in question.)
The interesting thing is that both the Osbournes and Love seem brutally honest about the mistakes they've made. Sharon says "I'm angry. I'm let down. I feel like I failed again. I can't take it." But it doesn't make it okay.
The people I have the most respect for are the celebrities who keep their kids out of the spotlight. The ones who realize that once they have children, their priorities need to change. It's no longer YOU FIRST. It's the KIDS FIRST.
Kelly Osbourne Story
Quote:
Kelly Osbourne Checks Into Rehab For Painkiller Addiction
News comes one year after her brother, Jack, sought help.
by Corey Moss
A year after her younger brother checked himself into rehab, 19-year-old Kelly Osbourne is seeking treatment for addiction to painkillers.
Kelly's parents, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, revealed the news Friday (April 2) on CNN's "Larry King Live," where they had originally planned to promote the third season of "The Osbournes," which begins on Tuesday.
"I'm angry," a teary-eyed Sharon said. "I'm let down. I feel like I failed again. I can't take it."
Sharon told King her publicist received a phone call from a British tabloid Friday morning asking for comment on a photo showing Kelly doing a drug deal. Sharon then confronted her daughter, who at first denied doing drugs.
"Being a drug addict and alcoholic myself, I know telling the truth doesn't come easy," Ozzy said. "It's a family illness. It's in the genes. In this day and age, the availability of getting drugs is amazing."
Kelly, whose hard-partying antics are a common theme on "The Osbournes," eventually admitted to taking painkillers and turned over a bag of some 500 pills, Ozzy said.
Sharon then phoned the Promises treatment center in Malibu, California, where Ben Affleck, Robert Downey Jr., Charlie Sheen, Christian Slater and Tim Allen have all received treatment. Jack Osbourne brought his sister there later in the day.
"She didn't put up a fight," Sharon said. "It happened so quickly, she didn't have time. It was so much of a shock she said, 'I'll go.' "
Kelly is still being assessed by the facility, and the family has no idea how long she'll be in treatment. After discussing the details, King asked the Osbournes why they hadn't suspected anything. "I did, but she's so good at telling lies," Ozzy answered.
"You never want to believe it," Sharon added. "She's my baby."
In mid-April last year, Jack checked into Las Encinas Hospital in Pasadena, California (see "Jack Osbourne Checks Into Rehab Facility"). He later admitted to being addicted to the painkiller OxyContin as well as marijuana and alcohol (see "Jack Osbourne From Rehab: 'I Got Caught Up In My New Lifestyle' ").
Jack celebrates one year of sobriety on April 23. "He's doing so good," Sharon said.
Ozzy also has a history of drug and alcohol abuse and spent three months in rehab after he choked and threatened to kill Sharon in a drunken rage in 1989.
"For every good thing that's happened to the Osbournes, there's been a bad thing," Ozzy said.
In recent weeks, Kelly has been hard at work writing her next album (see "Kelly Osbourne Revels In Freedom With The Matrix, Linda Perry On New LP") as well as shooting an ABC pilot (see "Kelly Osbourne 'Doing It' On Network TV").
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Courtney Love Story
Quote:
Love Unloads — Coherently! — On 'The View'
Stung by daughter's rejection from school, Love attempts to explain recent behavior.
by Jennifer Vineyard
Courtney Love isn't the only one facing fallout from her latest round of troubles — her daughter is too. In an appearance on ABC's "The View" Thursday morning, the singer said 11-year-old Frances Bean has been rejected from the school she wants to attend.
"That's why I'm here. This is the first time she's been stigmatized because of me," Love told the show's hosts. "And I just snapped. I'm ready to pop them."
Love's unlikely appearance on the program — which appeals to a mainstream, middle-American audience — seemed like a bid for respectability: She presented herself more as a mom concerned about her kid than as a rock star promoting an album. Then again, she did pretend to ride in on a broom — a wry witch-hunt reference.
Seeming more lucid than she did in recent appearances on "The Late Show With David Letterman" and "The Howard Stern Show," Love argued that her recent antics were the true reason why her daughter was rejected by the Archer School for Girls in Los Angeles.
"They didn't say it, but I can tell," Love said. "I just know. They dissed her bad. And [Frances] called me, and she said, 'Mother!' Where did 'Mother' come from? It's not 'Mom' anymore? And she said, 'I'm outraged!' She tore up the rejection slip, and she put it in her dog's bowl."
Love blamed herself, she said, because she's been acting like a "rock star." She said she accepted repercussions for herself but she didn't expect her daughter to be affected (see "Courtney Love Fighting For Custody Of Daughter Frances Bean").
"I'm a smartass, and it's gotten me into a lot of trouble," Love said. "I curse like a sailor, I show my boobs, and I smoke like hell." Then, turning to "View" co-host Joy Behar, Love said, "I could do your job. I'm fine, but I read in People magazine that I have a week to live. I'm healthy as a horse, I'm going to live to be 140. I'm not on drugs, so I must be crazy, you know?"
"View" co-host Star Jones then asked Love if she thought she needed to adjust her behavior to change her image and eventually win back custody of Frances. "If I need to dye my hair brown and come on this show every morning, then yeah, I'll do it," Love said. "My kid is my first priority."
But as soon as Love conceded that she might have to change, she quickly went on the defensive. She said the flack she received from her appearance on Letterman and a now-notorious incident at a Wendy's soon afterward — where a young man was photographed being very friendly with the exposed singer — was unfair. She said her Letterman flash was a statement about the Janet Jackson Super Bowl uproar, and that the Wendy's incident wasn't her fault: "I didn't lift my shirt up, the boy did."
Love noted that male rock stars such as Marilyn Manson and Flea are well-known for flashing their private parts and receive comparatively little criticism; she also pointed out that the "Letterman" appearance took place late at night.
She said she had played the role of at-home mom for five years, "which is suicide for a rock star, and I don't mean that literally." (see "Courtney: Being A Rock-Star Single Mom Makes Me A Target"). Love also said she's not an out-of-control mother, but in fact just the opposite. "I am not the cool mom on the block," she said. "I am the disciplined mom on the block. I am not the buddy. I am the boss of her."
Most of all, Love said she regrets — and resents — her most recent arrest (see "Courtney Love Arrested After Allegedly Striking Fan With Mic Stand").
The "View" appearance coincided with the damage control Love has been doing on her musical career. Recently, she phoned radio stations in an effort to get them to play "Hold on to Me," the second single from her recent album, America's Sweetheart. The song was the week's most-added track on alternative rock stations, according to Radio & Records.
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You have to laugh at yourself...because you'd cry your eyes out if you didn't. - Emily Saliers
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