Loading... Why do so many talented, popular and well loved celebrities take to drugs and alcohol?

Great question. At the root of it substance abuse is self abuse. The person is trying to take their mind off of inadequacies that they see (real or not) within themselves. It is truly sad. There are also many talented and popular non-celebrities that do this to themselves. Creative types are more prone to financial and social problems either as part of their lines of work, by choice, or upbringing. Many of these types have drugs and alcohol constantly pushed their way as if it was a safe recreational activity. Perhaps some of them think, just once and it becomes habit.

This is so much of an "I-want-to-be-loved-and-accepted" question. The basic answer is that once they taste fame, and start to be "accepted" into the more exclusive circles, they develop a hunger for that life, and will do anything to maintain it. So when offered, they are more willing to accept, especially if being "accepted" in that environment takes them into the circles they want to be in. They have to maintain the image, the pace, and the lifestyle, and some of them use the drugs to keep up with the energy required to do that.

To have fun.

I think quite a bit of it is boredom. There aren't very many people in bluegrass music with drug problems. Why? Because bluegrass musicians don't have luxury private jets or an entourage that's only slightly smaller than the population of Rhode Island. Many bluegrass acts tour as old country acts did -- in their own vehicles. When you're not only the musician you're also the t-shirt salesman, the sound technician, the roadie and the driver you don't have a lot of "down time." In the world of rock and roll, Elton John (who survived all these demons himself, thankfully) said it this way in the 1971 song "Holiday Inn:" "Boredom's a pastime that one soon acquired, where you get to the stage when you're not even tired, clicking your heels till the time comes around to pack up your bags and head out of town." Most of the modern acts have to "gear up" for two hours on stage, leaving them 22 hours out of a day with nothing else to do.

Another thing that might be an issue is that so many of these superstars don't have real contact with their fans, a "grounding in reality." Again using the bluegrass analogy, almost every bluegrass act, no matter how big they are, feels an obligation to (as Dailey & Vincent put it) "shake and howdy" with their fans. A lot of older country stars know many (and I'm talking hundreds, if not thousands) of their fans by name. In the world of rock and roll, most of these people have enough bodyguards to take out the Green Bay Packers front line, and you have to know somebody to get near them. The people who DO get in the "inner circle" of these acts want to stay there, so they basically become boot-lickers, or "yes men." People are afraid if they speak up when the celebrity is doing something they KNOW is wrong or injurious to the celebrity's health they will be "out" of the inner circle, and they don't want to lose that connection. Joe Walsh actually had to hire a "NO man" to help keep him sober!

Finally, the sad reality is that we, as a society, has made what we call "the rock and roll lifestyle" glamorous, almost to the point of condoning the notion that "early death by excess" is a good thing. We need to stop "celebrating" bad behavior. People make fun of the Osmonds for their "squeaky clean" lifestyle, but at least they're all still alive.

Because in being an artist, talented, or just anyone in general, you sometimes have gone through some things as a child and unfortunately drugs help some people cope. It is definitely an unhealthy habit and it has definitely taken the lives of too many great people. Famous and otherwise.

It seems like every few weeks or so another famous person is in the news with an alcohol or drug problem and it makes us wonder why? keep reading →

They probably turn to drugs and alcohol to deal with the fact that they have become public property and no longer have a life of their own to come and go as they please. It may also help them cope with their inner demons. Celebrity has its price!

Money makes you arrogant, arrogance blinds you and makes you paranoid, makes you do crazy things. It makes you to hide your real emotions in order to look strong, people can't handle that, that is why they take drugs and alcohol.

R.I.P. Whitney Houston :(

Don't you think that the flood of money and fame are basically pretty overwhelming to most? Another thought is that once having achieved becoming famous and making a ton of money, they may find that they still do not have the happiness that they thought it would bring them, so then they resort to recreational drugs and alcohol to numb the realization. Actually, there are as many reasons as fingers on your hands...............

Too much money and a media that wants them to be perfect. The pressure to be perfect drives them over the edge. We judge them by whatever they do. A song that wasn't the great for example, or a terrible movie performance. Some just can't take it and they allow themselves to fall into drugs and alcohol to hide their feelings.

Being a celebrity would completely suck in my opinion. Who cares about all that money, it can't buy your happiness, never could, and never will.

I think often they are already people with deep histories and issues that get pushed to the side when pressure to perform become the primary objective. Many great artists are old souls with a dark predisposition maybe even existing troubles. I also believe it is likely due to being put on a pedestal when really they are just as flawed as anyone maybe even ill and suffering in silence or masking their pain with substance and pretense. They also have access to huge amounts of money and unlimited people trying to please them. What kind of reality is this when you cannot just be yourself because you have become a commodity, an expectation of someones ideas of you. It is not all roses when many talented artist have had challenging histories, illnesses, loss and yet they are in the public eye so they become entertainment for us to judge how they are and how they live.. when really it is non of our concern outside of the parts they play...they are human and get tired, and want what we all want.. peace.. when one is part of the media, failure is not an option.. I mean they have to keep our fantasies alive, right?.. they have a lot of pressure to perform and maintain.. I mean will June Cleaver ever be anything but a perfect house wife.. labeled, a few young female artists constantly in the media for escapes,will they ever recover from the amount of judgement that has been put upon them through the media, do these young woman has a chance, will they leave them alone, I hope so. As to those we have lost, Amy, Curt, Micheal, will all these lost souls ever be more than overdoses and conversation, entertainment for us, when they had problems lives and families that knew the other aspects of them. The recent an sudden loss of Whitney Houston another tragedy, I am so sorry for her family, I hope they are left in peace and that she is left to rest in peace as well.

We need to live and let live and stop putting private lives out for judgement. I also think with the pressure to constantly perform, some just lose all aspects of themselves.. a performance this life.. We all want stardom, our time on the stage, the light shining on us, we all want to be famous, but do we want to be known, can we carry the burden?

Fame and stardom surely bring with them a kind of unreality - in terms of notoriety and popularity - that nobody is born knowing how to handle. The new "friends" that come with such a change, the desire of others to ingratiate themselves with someone famous for all the access and ease it offers them, must also feel quite unreal. And in the midst of all this "unreality" (and all that I can't imagine), I don't find it difficult for even the most grounded of us to struggle to handle the multifaceted and seductive nature of stardom.

That said, I think there is another factor that might be important. Some of the most profound artists are also haunted by dark events in their life. It is often that darkness, and the struggle to overcome it, that can drive an artists ascent to notoriety. It seems that in some ways art is their attempt to confront and/or understand their own demons.

If there is truth to that, it is not difficult to imagine that the behaviors that allow someone to "make it" to stardom in the first place might carry with them some demons that helped make that climb possible in the first place.

I don't think that I've done justice to the muse I'm suggesting, but I think there is a nugget there that perhaps another can better expose.

The talented, popular and well loved celebrities take to drugs and alcohol because:

1.for pleasure - they like the feeling the drug gives

2.because friends and family use them

3.because they like the 'taste'

4.to relieve tension and relax

5.to be part of a religious ceremony

6.because they are lonely

7.to relieve boredom

8.for pain relief

9.to help cope with problems and forget worries

10.because they have grown dependent on the drug

11.because they feel ill if they stop

12.to do things that they usually could not or would not do - it gives them courage

Because they can afford it I guess.

They should find some hobby they can do by themself.

It could be painting, explorering, learning new language, hubbing... there are a lot of things you can find when you start something new.

And when you have something you want to achieve, you won't waste time.

Because they are probably stressed up to their eyeballs :)

They think it's the "IN" thing, and above the law......Karma will catch up with them eventually....as we saw with MJ, Whitney, Cobain, Winehouse, etc. I'd rather be just getting by and leave the drugs and alcohol alone.....

This article gives a possible explanation to why famous celebrities turn to drug and alcohol use. Explanations include environment, peer pressure, and other sources. keep reading →

Hmmmm .... let's see. They don't know who they REALLY are, they are overwhelmed with public perception, and are lost???

Celebrities are people like me and like you also, but simply because they have become the people of the world whatever they do would count. If a poor man dies you will not see it on TV or on the internet if its not a mass death but if its a celebrity they would see it as if its not the same death that killed a poor man killed the celebrity also, so taking alcohol and drugs by the celebrities is a thing of choice by them simply because they have chosen to derive some satisfaction in it and not because they are celebrities.