Originally Posted By AutoPost This topic is for Discussion of <a href="http://www.LaughingPlace.com/Latest.asp?I1=ID&I2=75972" target="_blank"><b>Latest: USAToday: Video Surfaces of Disney Channel Celeb Miley Cyrus Smoking Substance From Drug P</b></a> <p><em>USA Today</em> reports video of 18 year old Miley Cyrus star of Disney Channel's popular Hannah Montana series smoking from drug paraphernalia has surfaced. The substance is unknown but the star is seen laughing uncontrollably. Some reports indicate the substance is a legal psychoactive plant, salvia. The video contains expletives which are bleeped and was posted by TMZ.</p>
Originally Posted By DlandDug I understand it was a bong filled with Diet Dr. Pepper, Gummi Bears and AquaNet.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA So many of these young starlets just can't seem to wait to be -- what they perceive as a 'grown up' If it's not smoking a bong, or showing their naked crotches getting out of car, they're posing for Maxim, or making a sex tape. Just another reason to not let you kids get into show business.
Originally Posted By ecdc Oh I'd say there's a difference between taking a hit from a bong (which most kids do by their eighteenth birthday, and wanting to prove you're a "serious" actress by somehow ending up naked onscreen. This strikes me as yet another example of our bizarre national hypocrisy, where people get all bent out of shape over something most of us do or have done. (See also, Profanity.)
Originally Posted By melekalikimaka It's just another case of Satan attacking. Or maybe it was Liam. Or maybe it was Satan. He looks a lot like Liam.
Originally Posted By Ursula <I'm glad the stupid things I did at 18 weren't caught on tape.> Exactly. The poor kid. The video was on the news last night.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 the difference is most of us weren't paid a gazillion dollars to market everything under the sun to kids, and at least some responsibility that goes along with that. -- my 16 year old who was a Hannah fan for a long time- has written her off as this gen's Brittany Spears - that was before this pic. I'd worry more about her recent behavior trend than any one incident as most have stated here isn't exactly abnormal for youth. One need look no further than Lindsay Lohan to see what the mixture of fame- money and lack of common sense can do to a young life.. even more troubling is Billy Ray's throwing his hands up in the air quote about how much is out of his control at this point- being a parent doesn't end at 16....
Originally Posted By vbdad55 so to be clear- I understand ^*&&% happens when your 16 - we were all there for the most part at one time.... but these celebs usually take it to the max eventually -- but no, I would not want their lives either.. the money is very cool- but living in a microscope is not
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan So few child stars come out of that experience in a healthy way. Putting a kid into that world is like letting them run across the freeway. Sure, there's a "chance" they'll make it, but wow, the odds are sure against it. It's too bad that they don't just use CGI technology to create kids for on screen roles, and let real, live kids just grow up in the real world. For every one that somehow makes it to adulthood mentally healthy and balanced, there are a thousand who wind up a mess.
Originally Posted By Bellella Well, let's see- she's an international teen celebrity, and has been one since she was thirteen- and her parents have gotten divorced. We should have seen this coming. First Demi, now Miley.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>So few child stars come out of that experience in a healthy way. Putting a kid into that world is like letting them run across the freeway. Sure, there's a "chance" they'll make it, but wow, the odds are sure against it.<< I don't disagree with this, but it isn't inherent to the actual job of working in showbiz, is it? Isn't it more that we and our media have created this bizarre environment where we worship celebrities, envy them, and then glory in their downfall? And the news and gossip columns (which are increasingly one in the same) that created the situation gleefully report every juicy detail as if they had nothing to do with it in the first place? In other words, it's their attention that makes someone famous, then they report that all the attention and coverage has led to this lurid scandal, then they wrap the irony up in more paradox and report the results of the scandal after they created that.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>I don't disagree with this, but it isn't inherent to the actual job of working in showbiz, is it?<< It is, but at least adults who get into it generally know what they're signing on for. To place a kid in that world and have them come out of it as a stable adult is exceedingly rare. >>Isn't it more that we and our media have created this bizarre environment where we worship celebrities, envy them, and then glory in their downfall?<< And then there's that. Schadenfreude. You have a precocious child star who develops a huge fan base and then goes through the awkward and not always successful transition to an adult acting career, and people waiting to see them stumble and "get theirs." Happens again and again and yet, so many parents tripping over each other taking toddlers to auditions and casting calls and acting classes and pageants. It's weird.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>It is, but at least adults who get into it generally know what they're signing on for. To place a kid in that world and have them come out of it as a stable adult is exceedingly rare.<< I totally agree. I just think it's our culture that's created that reality instead of it somehow being endemic to the industry. But, given that reality, parents ought to know better.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA It's always been like this -- since the beginning of movies -- the industry is harsh enough for adults, it's absolutely terrible for kids. Jackie Coogan, who appeared with Charlie Chaplin in some of his early silent pictures, made millions, which was squandered away by his parents. The Coogan Act now protects kids finances. Unfortunately, it doesn't protect their psyches. <-- is that even a word? Even "stars" like Mary Pickford, Shirley Temple, Elizabeth Taylor, Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland -- they all suffered real fall out as they entered their teen years, and tried to keep working. Some did okay -- Mickey Rooney did a fairly good job of making the transition, even as an older actor -- but most have been severely damaged by 'going to work' too early in their lives. Judy Garland was a complete wreck and died in her late 40s. Liza Minnelli is following in her mom's footsteps in my opinion. Even child stars like Disney's own Bobby Driscoll, Tommy Kirk, and Hayley Mills...the business screwed them up. More recently, Michael Jackson, David Cassidy, Danny Bonaduce, and even some of the kids who were on the Brady Bunch -- have suffered mental problems and addictions and other issues. And yes, some have endured, and even some have prospered, I suppose. Billy Mumy ("Lost in Space") seems to be doing well. Peter Billingsley (Ralphie in 'A Christmas Story') has also done relatively well. I read that he's written a musical version of "A Christmas Story" which is playing somewhere this holiday season. Drew Barrymore seems to have come out the other end to some degree, but she was a mess for many, many years. Gary Coleman, Dana Plato, Todd Bridges (all from 'Diff'rent Strokes') and all jacked up. Lindsay Lohan, Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears -- they're jacked up too. It's hard enough being a young person in the world without having your every move scrutinized by the world. And you can say 'well, they wanted to get into show business' -- Yeah. I say 'so what?' Someone has to step in and be the parents. And Billy Ray just throws up his hands and says in essence, 'can't do anything.' Right. He and Britney's dad were feeding off their respective child's gravy train. Blecch. The whole thing is so ugly. And so not surprising...
Originally Posted By vbdad55 add Ron Howard to those major child stars extremely successful and not screwed up -- might actually be the poster child for how it can work more recently Hillary Duff seems to be doing well plenty of 'lesser stars' also seem to do pretty well.. so it is possible- although I admit the odds are stacked against them
Originally Posted By CuriouserConstance Even if she was smoking pot, what teen doesn't try that at some point? I don't know if I'd consider this proof of some major screw up.
Originally Posted By ecdc Well that's what I was trying to get at in post 14. Normal teen behavior gets splashed across the airwaves as evidence of a surefire freefall into debauchery, which in turn becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because the poor girl can't sneeze without us hearing about it.
