With all this talk about drug use in sports, the effect that it has on our children, and questions about a level playing field, I found myself wondering how similar the situation is with drug use in the entertainment industry. And it led me to ask myself this question:
Why isn't their drug testing in Hollywood?
All these actors and musicians are role models aren't they? Kids look up to Lindsay Lohan, Justin Timberlake, and the Olsen twins just as much (if not more) than our sports stars. Why doesn't Charlie Sheen have to #### in a cup before the director yells "Action!"? Wait, bad example. He probably does have to #### in a cup for his probation officer.
But why should our kids be allowed to think, "If I do heroin, I could write some great songs!" or, "Look at the awesome life these people have! Maybe if I get coked up all the time, I'll be rich and famous too!"?
One argument against drug testing in Hollywood could be that there aren't sacred records being broken by the users. But that's not entirely true. What about the Oscars, Emmys, and Grammys? Should the band that's jacked up on heroin get an edge over the sober bands? I can't even count how many musicians have admitted to doing their best work while flying high. Would anyone even know who Jimi Hendrix was if he had never "indulged"? Where would Willie Nelson and Kurt Cobain get their inspiration from? Would Robert Downey Jr have gotten another job after Weird Science without "the juice"? There's little doubt that many of the illegal drugs out there can be considered performance-enhancing. With that in mind, should any of Heath Ledger's awards be stricken from the books now? Sure there weren't any Hollywood rules against his drug use but he was breaking the law, wasn't he? Should Nirvana be kept out of the rock and roll hall of fame due to Cobain's well documented heroin use?
Sorry for all the questions, but I've got a few more.
Is there less outrage about drug use in Hollywood because people accept that it happens, and that it's just "part of the game"? Is drug use OK for actors and musicians because the culture has been to condone and probably, in many cases, support and encourage it for so long? Similar to how the culture in baseball was to do anything you could to be out there on the field, help your team win, get the big contract, and entertain the fans?
Will people ever care about Hollywood? Is anyone going to
pressure the Screen Actor's Guild to throw some testing into their
contract? Are we going to see some congressional hearings with the
heads of Paramount and BMG getting grilled about their industries? I doubt it. But the spotlight will be leaving baseball soon and it may head towards football. After that?
This blogger is a New Yorker, born and raised. I'm a huge sports fan, following pretty much every major sport out there. Sadly, this does not include hockey, NASCAR, or boxing. Hockey lost my affection during the lockout, NASCAR is not a sport, and boxing has become incredibly boring since the dawn of MMA. If you want to talk football, baseball, basketball, or MMA, then I'm your man. I could also debate NASCAR with anyone, but we would probably end up just going around in circles...
