'08
You’ll forgive me for that obnoxiously worded title, said with wide eyes while clutching hands together in a mock bid for forgiveness. Nicole Richie has spoken about her DUI conviction stemming from a December, 2006 incident in which she was pulled over driving the wrong way on the freeway. Richie admitted to cops that she had done pot and vicodin that day, later claiming that she took the prescription painkiller for period cramps. That was actually her second DUI in less than five years, and she copped a plea and was sentenced to four days in jail. Richie was pregnant at the time she showed up to do her sentence and was let out of the Century Regional Detention Center after 82 minutes. This is the same facility where Paris Hilton served a full 22 days in jail for driving repeatedly on a suspended license after her DUI.
Now that Richie is a mom and has admirably turned her life around she says she realizes the error of her ways and won’t do it again. She also wants to be a better person and a better role model for her daughter Harlow, who is nearly six months old.
She explains, “We were watching the news once and they happened to be talking about drunk drivers. They started flashing up pictures of little children that had been killed by people driving under the influence.
“At that moment I literally felt like the worst person in the world for even trying to get out of that situation. That was our first real parent moment.”
She added, “There’s absolutely no way I will do anything like that again. I never took life seriously before. I’m in a completely different place now. I owe my baby my life. I have a responsibility now. I have to really be someone I want my child to look up to. I think it’s important for every child to look up to their parent. I want to show her the right path.”
[From Showbizspy via Gossip Rocks]
I can make fun of Richie’s revelation all I want, but she does deserve a lot of credit for changing her ways and being a devoted mom. She’s spotted out at events still, but that’s part of her job as a rich person known for showing up for stuff, and she does it well. She’s the one who saved her life, though, not her baby. There are plenty of women who have babies and don’t change at all.
Lane Garrison of Prison Break got into an accident while driving wasted on a vodka run. He ended up killing a 17 year-old male passenger who he had just met that night. He is serving 40 months in state prison and his actions will haunt him for the rest of his life.
If only all the other young celebrities could get the message that driving drunk is deadly. You don’t need an adorable baby to realize that you shouldn’t get behind the wheel wasted. Just look at your family and loved ones and think how much it would hurt if you lost them to a drunk driver.
I wonder who the next DUI celebrity will be. Hopefully the only damage they’ll do will be to their career.
This news is a little old, the quote came out earlier in the week, but I’m just hearing it now.
Nicole Richie is shown at the Cartier Love Bracelet Launch on 6/18/08, thanks to Adriana M. Barraza for WENN.
Written by Celebitchy
Posted in DUI, Nicole Richie
24 Responses to “Nicole Richie says being a mom made her realize that DUI is wrong”
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Is this a joke? It’s not like “driving drunk can kill people” is secret information. People really need to be told this kind of crap? It’s called common sense. But just in case…hey, everybody, if you set your face on fire it will burn.
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Good for her. Nice to see a wild child finally growing up!
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It shouldn’t take being a mother to realise that driving around drunk and killing people is wrong.
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Prefer the angst ridden skinny partying Nicole. This one’s had a personality bypass
“…I’m a good girl now and all grown up” bleh! -
Sometimes it does take something to make it all soak in. Because although we all know drunk driving is bad, WE are never really all that drunk and WE are excellent drivers and WE have no impairment of our faculties and this sort of thing never could happen to US. And one day something happens and we realize we really were drunk, were impaired, and were damned lucky that what finally made us realize it wasn’t an accident in which we killed or maimed someone.
For me, it was a co-worker’s sister who was tossed onto the hood of a drunk’s car, while he drove several miles with her broken body still on his car, a promising young college student killed, and the friend who was with her a paraplegic. Seeing the grief that family went through for months and years was enough to make me realize that it’s not smart to even have one drink and still drive, and so I don’t.
I’m glad to see Nicole growing up.
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I really love the woman Nicole has grown into. Sometimes it really does take something in your face like that to make a diference
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Well, if that’s what it takes–better she should need motherhood to teach her that, than continuing to do it.
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that quote came out a LONG time ago, before she had the baby. she was preggers and gave that interview - i could be wrong - but i think it was right before she “went to jail” (it could have been after she got out.)
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that interview aired in august last year.
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Wow, now that she’s a mother she’s so wise.
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Thanks you guys, sometimes I get fooled by news items that claim a quote is new. Sorry about that!
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I think mothers give themselves way too much credit. They seem to assume that only “moms” know that its wrong to drink and drive. As if anyone who is not a mom is too dumb to know that, or too amoral to think about it.
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Nicole could have killed someone when she was out driving drunk. At that point in time, she was a potential murderer.
She is yet another female celebrity with nothing to offer the world, except her size zero body.
And for the record, I’m not a mother, but I’ve never driven a car while under the influence of alcohol.
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I have absolutely ZERO tolerance for drunk drivers. My brother hit a car head on while drunk, and it just so happens that the driver of the car he hit was also drunk. Those are the only DUI accidents acceptable. Fate allowed them to meet in such a drastic manner as a wake up call. No one was killed but it was an eye opener to both men.
I don’t buy her excuse. She’s only sorry she got caught (barely) -
i know that being a mother had an awakening effect on me, but i was at an age when i would have had the awakening within a year or two anyway. i think my daughter did help me find purpose and reason, but i know a few girls who had children at the same time and they didn’t change a bit. what is important is that she seems real about it, good for her.
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I think as long as she has realized what she did was wrong then good for her. Some people never get it and continue with their reckless and irresponsible behavior. Let’s face facts here-Nicole was just a tad bit self involved before she became pregnant. It doesn’t surprise me at all that she didn’t think of the consequences of her actions–she rarely had to face consequences. Look at Nicky Hogan, he STILL doesn’t get it.
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At least she has taken responsibility for her actions unlike her ex partner in crime Parasite. Give her some credit. If you look at where she was headed with that skank and where she is inher life now I have total respect for her. She is putting her child first. We are all selfish creatures and it sometimes takes a child or some other life changing event to make us mature and realize the world does not revolve around us. At least she has some comprehension and understanding of the matter which she would not if she had not actually given it some thought. You think Paris learned anything in her stint in jail other than she cannot live without her Valtrex or sleep on sheets with less than a 1500 thread count sheets. I doubt it.
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What a dumb bitch! I am not a mother, and I know damn well you shouldn’t be drinking and driving. Stupid people like her who can afford a fucking driver, but are too selfish to care about anyone else.
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If she means it and sticks to it, good for her.
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Wow, I’m scared that some of you can vote. I said some.
I’m not a mother and didn’t need some type of experience, I’ve always known it is stupid to drink (or do drugs) and then drive. I’ve never done it and won’t because I couldn’t bear it if I hurt someone.
But seriously, she’s a complete idiot, comes out and says, “oh, I see the error of my ways, I love my baby” and people eat it up and say that’s great. Talk about being easily duped. It’s a sound bite and gets good press.
And her kid will hate her. Mark my words, that kid will totally hate her.
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Reminds me of other formerly wild celebs, they becomes a mom and start trying to act like some saint or something. I’m not buying it.
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Her comment that she didn’t value her own life is very telling.
It’s just too bad that people who feel that way wind up doing things that hurt other people who do value theirs.
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Nicole is looking better than ever, but I hope she’s not so ignorant that it took pushing a kid out of her chocha to realize that drunk driving is wrong. Come on Nicole, drunk driving kills people every day! You knew it was wrong way before you had Harlow!
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Love her.
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