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Dr. Drew Pinsky Answers Critics Who Want Him Held Accountable for Stars’ Downfalls

Jun 10, 2013  •  Post A Comment

Dr. Drew Pinsky, the host of the VH1 series "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew," tells The New York Times that he’s baffled when people hold him accountable for the actions — and deaths — of some of his former patients on the show.

"They think I’m a millionaire and they think I am, like, rampaging or exploiting people to maintain that,” Pinsky said. “And that could not be farther from the truth.”

He recounted a recent show when an audience member grilled him about a pornographic tape made by Farrah Abraham, who was on MTV’s "Teen Mom." Pinsky had served as a guest host on the show.

"Somebody went, ‘How about your teen mom Farrah and her porn tape?’” Pinsky said. “I went, ‘My teen mom Farrah?’ I’ve spent maybe three hours with her, probably 45 minutes across three different shows I hosted. I know her. I’m available to her. I care what happens to that young lady. But I don’t produce that show. I’m not her doctor.”

The backlash against Pinsky intensified after the death earlier this year of singer Mindy McCready. She was the fifth participant on Pinsky’s show to die within two years, the story notes. Pinsky said that McCready had stopped being his patient, but that he had urged her a few weeks before her death to seek help.

Pinsky said that his reason for working on "Celebrity Rehab," which he has said he won’t return to, is to illustrate to the public the dangers of unchecked addictions.

"If doctors are not allowing ourselves to participate in the entertainment aspects, we are not going to have any impact,” he said. “The medical practice is not getting better.”

dr-drew-pinsky.jpgDr. Drew Pinsky

2 Comments

  1. Like almost everybody else in the entertainment industry, he is just exploiting these people to make money. The one person who is really trying to help people is Paul Peterson, the former child star, most of you don’t remember (Donna Reed Show). He is working with an organization “A Minor Consideration” that doesn’t exploit personalities for his own gain, but actually tries to help kids and former kids of Show Business.

  2. I have to disagree with you. It’s very powerful to see someone you once looked up to struggling with addiction and to hear their personal story. I believe Dr. Drew’s show has had a positive impact on many TV viewers. I know that personally, as someone who has struggled with depression, the show taught me that if a celebrity can seek help for something as difficult to overcome as addiction that I can certainly seek help for overcoming depression. The show illustrated that I’m not alone in my struggles and there are people out their who have overcome even greater challenges.

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