MSN TV Blog - Reality TV

Leif Garrett Says 'Celeb Rehab' Producers Coerced Him into Using

An L.A. Times article questions the ethics of rehab reality TV

By MSN TV Jan 4, 2011 2:04PM

No doubt about it, shows like "Intervention" and "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew" make for riveting reality TV. But a recent article in the L.A. Times questions the ethics of televising such personal matters for the world to see. Dr. David Sack, the chief executive of Malibu's Promises Treatment Center told the Times, "People who are sharing the most intimate details of their life are going to change the way they relate to their therapist on camera. It becomes a performance -- not treatment."

 

In the article, one-time teen idol, Leif Garrett, a participant on the current season of "Celebrity Rehab" on VH1, said he was coerced by producers to break his several days of sobriety: "They asked to get some footage of me using," he told the paper. "And I said, 'I haven't been using.' They said, 'We really have to get footage of you using.' Anyway, I was easily talked into showing them."

 

Jeff Conaway, best known for his roles on "Taxi" and in the film "Grease," and a participant on the show's first season, corroborates this sentiment. "We all knew we were on TV," he told the Times. "I think everybody, like myself, made choices. Sometimes we would go a little bit further than maybe we normally would. You can't help it. There are cameras sitting in front of your face, and we're paid to be dramatic. That's what we do."

 

A rep for VH1 defended the show's ethics via e-mail, telling the paper, "The show's producers would never ask anyone to use…PERIOD"

 

You can read the entire article here.

 

What do you think? Would TV producers ask participants to use to enhance a storyline? Leave a comment and weigh in.

Tags: Celebrity Rehab
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23Comments
de3chevy
Jan 5, 2011 12:33AM
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I would say consider the source and the source is lying.......Dr. Drew's credibility goes a lot farther then Leif's does.  It's time for little Leif to grow up and take responsibility for his actions and get sober and contribute something to society, something he has yet to do in his life.... 
bklynjm
Jan 4, 2011 11:13PM
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Of course they would do anything to make the show more interesting. They are paying them to be there therefore they will do as they are told for the audience.
blue light explosion
Jan 4, 2011 9:42PM
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Leif your Christmas t-shirt arrived. The one that say's, "I rationalize outrageous bull $hit!" 
Shel71
Jan 4, 2011 9:34PM
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I enjoy the show, and I think it's just like any other rehab - It's a struggle for each and every one and some stay sober and some do not.  Each of the celebrities have been in other rehab facilities at least once previously.  Obviously it didn't work that time.  So who cares if this rehab is televised? The cameras don't make them clean just like they don't make them dirty.  If it works for them, great.  If it doesn't, at least they are still trying, whether it's for themselves, their loved ones, a paycheck, additional fame and work or whatever reason.  I just hate to see the talent that most of these celebrities have being stripped away by their addictions and find myself hoping and praying that this time he/she will stay sober for whatever reason they find through whatever method is available to him/her.
beenthere432
Jan 4, 2011 9:28PM
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Only the people that are still using, said that they were asked to use? hmmmm... Maybe in their own drug induced minds. Jeff Conway and Leif obviously are not ready to get clean and sadly... probably never will be. If you are living with co-dependants as these two are, it makes it much more difficult.

As for the question did they or didn't they (ask them to use)? I don't believe they want people to fail at recovery......becaus​e then they wouldn't be able to film, Sober House. ha 

Teresa MORALES (HBDelight)
Jan 4, 2011 8:48PM
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Although I do enjoy the show, I guess I am in the minority...the ones who are actually rooting for the addicts to finally "get it" and stay sober. Obviously the things we actually see are the things that make for tv...tantrums, arguements and the like. We don't see the intensive one-on-one therapy or the addicts actually talking to the camera about their feelings. I would like to see each addict have a recorder of their own so they can sit and record how they are feeling, what their hopes are, their fears, etc. Seeing that would help us understand them more. I do care about these people and pray for their continued sobriety...but 21 days does not sobriety make! And during those 21 days, they should NOT be at places where they can trigger; like the beach or a restaurant. For heavens sake, they aren't even SOBER yet! I think the stay should be more like 90 days!
HeadlineAddict
Jan 4, 2011 8:35PM
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Did you really think going on TV would help control the addiction?  TV is entertainment period-the opportunity for it to be educational passed long ago.  Your best to buck up and treat yourself because most rehab centers are also businesses meant to make someone else rich not to help someone sober up-they want you back for business.
LBowman1
Jan 4, 2011 8:13PM
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People don't make TV shows for fun. They make them in order to make money. Bad news nearly always gets more attention, ratings and money than good. Audiences are drawn to watching other people at their worst. I can't see getting lots of ratings for a show about rehab that people tune into just to watch others not use drugs. It would be sort of like watching people sit on a couch for an hour without doing anything interesting. I also can't see someone investing a lot of money in filming people that might not use anything. The odds would be too high that they would waste a lot of money filming only boring stuff. To insure their investment they will stack the deck and hire celebrities that promise to do the bad behavior that the show's producers know viewers want to see. With drug users the temptation is already there so the producers probably don't have to beg too hard in order to get someone to agree. That's why I find this show particularly repulsive. It preys on people that are having a hard time staying clean.

Welcome to "reality TV." There is very little reality to it.

sunesideup
Jan 4, 2011 8:10PM
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Speaking from a sober addict's (10 yrs this past Nov 27th) point of view...you cannot believe anything we say...simply we look for someone else to blame for EVERYTHING. Yes I agree some and maybe all of the participants on “Celebrity Rehab” are only there to get some camera time in hopes of getting new gigs from it. However if one person chooses sobriety over a life of drugs or alcohol because of this show …I for one do not care what celebrity is on the show nor why they choose to do so.

shelldavis
Jan 4, 2011 8:10PM
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And what was his excuse for using the other half dozen or so times he went to rehab and failed????????
Gage11
Jan 4, 2011 7:34PM
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No, they would not ask him to use.  He is just a very poor candidate for rehab, and looking to blame his use on someone else.  Ratings are one thing,  but this is ludicrus.
Hardyangel13
Jan 4, 2011 7:33PM
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Yes I can see them doing it and here is why I think so. How in the world would they have video footage of the patients using. It isn't like there are cameras following the people on here the much anymore. They are all C list celebrities at this point still trying to get the last few minutes of fame out of careers that burned out a long time ago. When was the last time any of them were major celebrities anyway. And that is the point of these type of shows. If they were trying to show celebrities struggling why not have ones that are in the mainstream now......because they wouldn't dare come on it thats why.
hrtattkjck
Jan 4, 2011 7:25PM
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Dr. Drew is no doctor he is an attention seeking money Grubber just like Dr. Phil except worse. I believe the oath states first do no harm. I believe making drug treatment a three ring freak show is malpractice at its best and criminal at iits worst. What humanity will do to one another for a buck is unbelieveable.
RightToMyOpinionBub
Jan 4, 2011 7:24PM
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Dr. Drew is a scumbag of the highest order. Like everyone involved in the War on Drugs, he profits off these people. He's an exploiter and a parasite. I truly hope he gets his,.. SOON!
baddaddy108
Jan 4, 2011 7:10PM
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Oh...HELL YES...I BELIEVE THAT THEY WOULD! They only care about the ratings! Ratings = MONEY!
treyday
Jan 4, 2011 6:56PM
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Its like telling a 2 year old you cant have candy! Yeah right sure! They asked and he obliged without much coaxing I'm sure because they knew he would!
Rocky Mountain 81
Jan 4, 2011 6:38PM
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Of course they would, what would the show be like without seeing  them using and getting mad and Dr. Drew comes in to be the hero.  If these people can't make it through other rehab, what makes people think they can do this one and make it stick.  It's all for show and the money.  To bad that these people have to sink this low just to get on tv.  Look at Janice, now there is an attention seeker and she can't get it any other way now.  Her days of being a model are long over and she knows it.  All she can do is act up and shout look at me, I was the first supermodel.  Yeah right. 
MAMALISH
Jan 4, 2011 6:27PM
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I DON'T BELIEVE THE PRODUCERS ASKED LEIF TO USE. WHY WOULD HE AGREE TO DO A SHOW THAT WOULD DO THAT. THE WHOLE STORY DOESN'T SOUND LIKE IT IS  BEING TOLD HERE. JUST SAYING...
l1964
Jan 4, 2011 6:24PM
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yes they would ask to use, but I think if the addict were to insist NO, they would work with that.
grandma bb
Jan 4, 2011 6:14PM
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I have always thought that a therapist who agreed to have their sessions televised for reality tv were questionable at best and maybe even engaging in malpractice.
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