Another day, another celebrity in rehab. This time, it is Velvet Revolver lead singer Scott Weiland. The Velvet Revolver issued a statement today on their web page that said, “Following Velvet Revolver’s performance last night in Los Angeles, lead singer Scott Weiland voluntarily entered a rehab facility.”
Now unlike some (Kirsten Dunst took me by surprise), this should not a big surprise to anyone that knows anything about Weiland’s history. He has been diagnosed as being bi-polar, but he does not take medication for the disorder. Perhaps that accounts for his many run-ins with the law.
In 1994, as his band Stone Temple Pilots really took off, Weiland claims he became a heroin addict, having been introduced to the drug by Butthole Surfer lead singer Gibby Haynes. He was caught, convicted, and issued one year of probation for buying crack cocaine in 1995. Afterwards, Weiland admitted to drug use, saying he and Courtney Love, no stranger herself to drug problems, holed up in a hotel for a month and did drugs the whole time.
Weiland’s drug use put his band on hiatus, but he released a solo album in 1998. It was also during this time that Weiland was caught in Manhattan trying to buy heroin. He was convicted and he served jail time in Los Angeles. Weiland crashed in car in November 2007 and was charge with driving under the influence.
I do not mean to be cynical – okay, I do – but it seems that every day a new celebrity is in rehab or as has become popular as of late, the psych ward. Is it just having too much money that leads to excess? Is the job so stressful that they have to turn to something to help them through it? Is it the emotional distress of being away from family and friends for so long? Is it a mental illness and they are just trying to self-medicate?
What do you think?