While Amy Winehouse’s rehab has reportedly been going well in terms of her commitment to the program, she is said to be suffering through a terrible detox. According to both the Daily Mail and The Sun, Amy had to be transported to the hospital and put on an IV drip because she was so dehydrated from throwing up.

Amy Winehouse is on a hospital drip after becoming dangerously dehydrated as she went “cold turkey” from drugs. The singer… was smuggled into a Harley Street clinic on Wednesday for treatment. A source close to the London Clinic, which is near the Capio Nightingale Hospital in Marylebone, where Winehouse is undergoing rehab, told The Sun: “Amy was looking very pale and thin.

“She looked ropey and exhausted. Let’s hope she hasn’t taken a turn for the worse.” Her father, Mitch, 57, has said she is suffering “horrific” withdrawal symptoms. He said yesterday that she was “making progress” but that it would take a “long time”.

[From the Daily Mail]

Mitch Winehouse says that Amy originally went into rehab with the hopes of performing at the Grammys, but doesn’t think it will end up happening. He said, “I’m not sure the Grammys are going to happen. I don’t want her to go, it might be a bit too soon for her. She’s not well - that’s why she’s in rehab.” Hopefully Amy will focus on her recovery more than anything else. If the Grammys are the carrot on the stick she needs to get her going, that’s great, but rehab should be the first priority.

Picture Note by JayBird: Images are of Amy Winehouse over the last month. She has since gone back to her trademark dark beehive.

Actress Eva Mendes has been in rehab for an undisclosed “substance abuse problem” for a few weeks. She has been recovering at Cirque Lodge, the same place Lindsay Lohan was for her last stint in rehab following her DUI arrest.

TMZ has learned Eva Mendes is in Utah battling a substance abuse problem.

We’re told the “Ghost Rider” star is at the famous Cirque Lodge, near Sundance. The Lodge, which treated Lindsay Lohan and other stars, is one of the most respected treatment facilities in the country.

Eva has been at Cirque for several weeks.

TMZ contacted her rep, who did not return multiple calls for comment.

[From TMZ]

Of all the Hollywood actresses on the scene, Eva was the last person I expected to have an issue with drugs or alcohol. She has never been embroiled in any kind of scandal involving public inappropriateness, which makes this news all the more surprising. So many celebs have checked themselves into rehab over the past year, including Sean Young, Amy Winehouse, Jesse Metcalfe, Mike Tyson, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Pete Doherty. None of these are a shock, and in many cases they were a long time coming. But Eva Mendes is an popular actress and media darling who consistently appears very pulled-together and composed in public. Whatever substance she’s been abusing, it was definitely under the radar, at least with the media. It just goes to show that you never really know what people are doing behind closed doors.

Hopefully, Eva will successfully complete her treatment in privacy, and will be able to stay clean and continue her career.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Eva Mendes is shown at the unveiling of her new PETA ad on 12/20/07, thanks to PRPhotos.

Blame the dealer, not the addict—that’s Michael Lohan’s new philosophy, at least when it comes to his precious cash cow, daughter Lindsay.

The recovering alcoholic and former jailbird told the Sydney News that he has been looking for the individuals who sold Lindsay cocaine, and is especially keen to find the man who is currently selling a story to the tabloids about how the starlet begged to score some coke over the Thanksgiving holiday.

“God is going to get even with this guy. He’s destroyed a lot of lives.

I’ve been looking for the people who’ve been selling my daughter and these other kids the drugs. And come hell or high water, one day I’m going to find these guys and I’m going to expose them.”

[From The Sydney News]

I’m sure the dealers are shaking in their shoes. I have this mental image of him trying to look like a tough guy in his black mesh shirt, roaming the bad neighborhoods of Manhattan – with a camera crew in tow, of course. And now that Lindsay is reportedly drinking again, will Michael also be personally visiting all the nightclubs in New York and LA to demand that they shut down, so Lindsay won’t be tempted?

Britney Spears’ long-lost uncle Willie Spears has sold out his whackjob niece to the British tabloid, The Sun. That ought to make Thanksgiving dinner real interesting this year.

In his exclusive interview, in which he speaks from the comfort of his trailer in Kentwood, Louisiana, Uncle Willie, brother of Britney’s dad Jamie, says that Britney was an out of control teen who started boozing it up and experimenting with drugs at age 14. According to Willie, he says Brit was heading down the wrong path long before Adnan, Sam Lufti or even K-Fed came into the picture. He recalls a wrap party for the Mickey Mouse Club Show, which the Spears clan attended:

“The kids were definitely drinking that night. While the adults talked, they were somewhere else, up to no good. They had a bottle of gin and slipped away to the bathroom to drink it. I saw them going.”
But Willie is certain Britney was exposed to drink and drugs long before she hit the big time.

“Her brother Bryan was the star of the high school football team. They went to all the best parties where there were drugs and alcohol - a lot.”

He believes her drug-taking started at 14 with marijuana but adds: “It got worse when she got famous and she found out that people would do what she wanted them to. She wanted to drink, party and go where she wanted to go. She is a ruthless little thing, make no mistake. Nobody controls her. She bosses everyone around her.”

[From The Sun]

Uncle Willie also talks about Jamie and Lynn’s turbulent marriage and how it affected the kids, including a sensitive young Britney:

Her parents Jamie and Lynne divorced in 2002 but Brit was exposed to their hell-raising rows when she was growing up.

Willie breaks down in tears as he tells of one dramatic incident. “Jamie was drunk at a barbecue and he tried to drive off with Britney in the car. She was no more than five years old. I tried to stop him, so I reached in to grab the keys out of the ignition and he punched me. We got into it right there by the car, fighting in front of her. Britney was jumping up and down, crying. Lynne had to run out to get her inside.”

[From The Sun]

Yawn. I hope Willie got some nice cash for this, because he hasn’t really revealed anything that shocking, and will probably be cut off from the Spears family fortune for good now. While this may be the first time a Spears insider has gone public with this information, it is certainly not a surprise. There have been rumors for years that Britney’s parents were drunks who yelled and screamed, even on set while Britney was working. And while it’s a shame that Britney’s uncle is profiting from her downward spiral, he really isn’t much different than her own mom, who goes running to the tabloids whenever she has a story she wants to control. Other outlets have already broken the story of Britney’s family history of mental illness, and it’s been long suspected that Britney has long-standing problems with alcohol and drugs.

Really, the only thing surprising about this interview is that Uncle Willie does not have a mullet.

Note by Celebitchy: Britney Spears is shown going to a Hustler porn shop with Sam Lufti in Hollywood on 1/27/08, thanks to WENN.

Amy Winehouse has finally entered rehab, and it’s been confirmed by her record company. I feel like I’ve written versions of this article seventy times. Probably because Amy’s always torturing us with such crazy antics that you assume someone would force her into rehab afterwards, but it never happens. Apparently the threat of not being issued a travel visa for the Grammys was enough to get Winehouse’s butt in gear. Well in theory anyway.

“Amy decided to enter the facility today after talks with her record label, management, family and doctors,” said the statement from Universal Music Group. “She has come to understand that she requires specialist treatment to continue her ongoing recovery from drug addiction and prepare for her planned appearance at the Grammy Awards. She is nominated in an incredible six categories. Amy entered the facility by mutual agreement and continues to receive the full support of all concerned. Amy is the most talented and important musical artist of her generation and has made huge strides on her road to recovery. Universal Music Group wants nothing more than to see her take the time she needs to come back to full health and fulfill her incredible potential with the label. The label has always had the best interests of Amy at heart and has been guided by her family and doctors in the last few months as to the best direction to take. All concerned feel that Amy must put her health before all other considerations and will be by her side whenever and wherever they are needed.”

[From People]

I think calling anyone “the most talented and important musical artist” of their generation is asking for trouble. You’re just begging people to argue why that’s not the case. I can’t tell if Amy thinks she’s too important or has no self-esteem whatsoever. Something tells me it’s probably the latter, and if hearing she’s the best of the best makes her want to get better, go for it. I hope rehab does some good, but I’m under the impression from this statement that Amy’s probably going because her record label is forcing her to. If she were going entirely of her own volition, that’d be one thing. It would mean she’d realized some things on her own, and/or hit rock bottom. Her motivation has a lot to do with her success in rehab. But at least she’s there, and that’s a step. We wish her the best.

Picture note by Jaybird: Amy Winehouse and her father Mitch Winehouse leaving the Universal Records office after attending a 2 1/2 hour meeting with Amy’s record company today. Images thanks to WENN.

Both The Sun and Us Weekly are reporting that Amy Winehouse has finally checked herself into rehab. This morning video was released of Amy doing a wide array of hard drugs over the course of several hours. A lot of people had recently hoped that Amy was starting to turn her life around, after going on vacation with an ex-boyfriend, gaining a little weight, and dramatically changing her hairstyle. Then last week she yelled about her undying love for her incarcerated husband Blake Fielder-Civil… during his court appearance. Hope for a turnaround waned a bit. The release of the shocking drug video seemed to put the final nail in the coffin.

This morning Amy’s own father told the press that she was fine and the video was no big deal, as it just showed what he already knew. While all of this seemed pretty hopeless, Amy Winehouse actually going into rehab is a big deal. She has steadfastly refused to go, with the notable exception of spending a few days at the Causeway Clinic this summer… with Blake in tow. Rehab with your husband generally doesn’t work. Rehab with your using loser of a do-nothing husband really doesn’t work. Considering that Amy has always refused to go to rehab all on her own, this could end up being a very good thing for her.

Amy Winehouse Is in rehab. The shamed singer left her East London home this afternoon in a blacked-out Mercedes and headed to the Edward House private rehabilitation clinic in North West London. Her relocation comes on the same day The Sun exposed a shocking video of her taking a cocktail of drugs.

Earlier in the day her dad, Mitch, arrived at the singer’s home to offer support. He later followed Amy to rehab. The Black To Black star has also reverted back to her familiar brunette beehive look after ditching her blonde bottle haircut.

[From The Sun]

Amy’s own website is filled with comments from fans urging her to get help. Though I’m really glad – and optimistic – that she’s finally gone to rehab, I can’t help but wonder what’s different about this particular drug revelation. What made Amy go this time, when she wouldn’t all those other times? She’s been seen multiple times buying drugs, using drugs, drunk and high, she accidentally overdosed… and this is just within the last six months. After the video was released this morning, Universal Republic, Amy’s label, said, “We are deeply disappointed and upset by these latest revelations and are doing everything we can to offer Amy our full support in dealing with her problems.” I can’t help but think someone with some influence must have put their foot down. Perhaps the video was enough evidence that Amy knew she could face legal repercussions if she didn’t go into rehab and show she was acknowledging and working on her problems. Or maybe Universal threatened her in some way. Honestly, who the hell cares? Let’s just hope something changes for her in rehab before she overdoses for the last time.

Update: Amy’s rep is denying that she’s in rehab. I’m not sure that I buy her story, but time will tell.

“Amy is not in rehab,” the rep says. “She was seeing a doctor who she regularly sees as part of her ongoing treatment. It was a regular appointment which she attends all the time.”

[From People]

If she regularly attends that clinic all the time, why would all the people that follow her 24/7 think she’s in rehab? If she’s not, I hope they tie her down and keep her there.

Picture note by Jaybird: Amy Winehouse and her dad Mitch arrive at a clinic in Marylebone, northwest London. WENN notes: Amy is clutching a note written by her husband Blake, who is awaiting trial at Pentonville Prison. The note reads: “Because I fu***g believe in us we will get through this and our kiss will taste all the sweeter for time served, I’m getting out this year.” Images thanks to WENN.

25-year-old actor Brad Renfro’s funeral and memorial service were held yesterday in his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee. Renfro was found dead last Tuesday morning by friends. He’d had a long history of drug and alcohol problems, and had been arrested several times, once in a highly publicized sting by the L.A.P.D. Though he’d been on probation, he was found to be in violation of it this past summer for failing to enroll in a long-term drug treatment program. Renfro first found fame when he was 12 after starring in “The Client” with Susan Sarandon. Unfortunately he went the way of many former child actors, and struggled with his addictions.

Renfro’s great-uncle Michael Earl officiated at the service.

An arrangement of red, white and yellow flowers adorned the closed casket, along with a photograph of a young, smiling Renfro, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. Approximately 600 well-wishers, including Renfro’s father and stepmother, Mark and Kim Renfro, and his mother, Angel Olsen, paid their respects. The actor’s maternal grandmother, Judy Hurt, half-sister Haley Olsen and stepbrother Dane Hoffmeister, also attended. His paternal grandmother, Joanne Renfro, who raised Renfro from the age of 5, was too ill to make it.

During his sermon, he [great-uncle Michael Earl] hinted at the actor’s past problems with drug addiction, according to the News Sentinel.

“Brad had problems just like I have problems, just like you have problems, just like all of us have trials and tribulations that we go through,” Earl said. “Was Brad perfect? Well, I can tell you, I’m not. Are you? He lived life, and he enjoyed it,” Earl later said of the actor. “Whatever he did, he did it hard as he could. … If he messed up, he’d go after it 100 percent. Yeah, I know him. And yes, I loved him.”

[From Us Weekly]

Though I could find several articles say that Renfro was raised by his grandmother, none of them state why. It’s an unusual circumstance, considering both of his parents are alive and supposedly well. It sounds like Brad’s uncle did a good job eulogizing him. He was honest and still kind. Though you want to only say nice things after someone dies, everyone knew about Brad’s struggles, so there was no point in any BS.

Sir Ian McKellen, who worked with Renfro on “Apt Pupil” wrote a nice tribute to Brad on his website. It says in part,

I first caught sight of Brad Renfro when he was kicking a football around with Bryan Singer on the half-built set of Apt Pupil in Hollywood. He was a kid having fun and that’s how I shall always remember him. But he was more than that. He was a proper actor and when we worked together he was determined to be accepted as such.

In Hollywood he was a teenage charmer, chaperoned by his beloved grandmother and by his admirers who protected him as best they could from the dangers of being a child in a careless adult’s world. On set, he was blusteringly confident although it was obvious he would have benefitted from training as an actor. Yet, as Todd, the disturbed teenager in Apt Pupil, he tapped into an inner demonic world and carried the film on his young shoulders.

[From mckellen.com]

There’s a little bit of internet gossip claiming that the coroner’s report is going to say that Brad died as a result of complications from the giant “F*** y’all” tattoo he got on his back 24 – 48 hours before his death. Though that seems highly unlikely, freak things do happen, and there an incredibly tiny possibility of infection and sepsis. I would think that a back tattoo would be hard to reach and thus tend to with ointments like you’re supposed to afterwards. If nothing else, Brad Renfro’s life is truly a cautionary tale about the dangers of fame and addiction. It seems so rare that you hear a story about a child actor whose life isn’t in some way negatively affected by their early success. It’s hard to know if it’s the fame itself, or the lack of a traditional childhood. Some have claimed it’s due in part to the unusual role reversal where they become the breadwinner for the rest of their family. Hopefully Brad has some sort of peace now.

I’m not that up on the gossip from when I was younger so I never knew that Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas had something going on during the filming of Romancing the Stone, which came out in 1984. It could have been common knowledge, but it’s news to me. The Daily Mail has some excerpts from Turner’s upcoming biography and she says that she had a “romance” with Douglas when they were on set at the time and he was still married. She doesn’t get into specifics, but claims she thought he was separated from this then-wife, Diandra Luker, to whom he was married from 1977 to 2000. Then Diandra showed up on set to try and patch things up with Douglas and Turner got the hint:

The film was being shot high in the mountains in Jalapa, Mexico. Up there, any entertainment and fun had to come from what we did together - which usually also involved the actor Danny DeVito…

Michael and I did some very challenging stunts together for the film, and the mutual trust and emotional connection we had enabled us to take on whatever hair-raising perils were necessary.

As shooting progressed, the spirit of adventure caught all of us. We were adventuring by day and by night. I knew that Michael and Diandra, his wife at the time, were separated, so I figured a romance was OK, it was fair. It was a very heady time and I thought: “Oh, I’m falling bad.”

Then Diandra showed up in Mexico, wanting to reconcile with her husband - and I saw that Michael wasn’t free to pursue another relationship. We couldn’t keep up the romance, but we kept our friendship. Michael always says very nice things about me. . . as well he should.

[Excerpt from Send Yourself Roses by Kathleen Turner, available on The Daily Mail]

Turner also talked about how she turned to alcohol, especially vodka, to cope with the pain of rheumatoid arthritis. She said it became a problem for her and that she ended up taking Antabuse to try and quit. She went to rehab and tried AA, where she found she wasn’t as anonymous as she hoped. She said the lowest point for her was in 2002 when she was working on the stage version of The Graduate:

When my pain from the illness was at its worst, I discovered that vodka killed it quite wonderfully. I didn’t want to take painkillers because I didn’t like the way they mucked up my mind, so I used alcohol instead. Stupidly, I didn’t consider that alcohol mucks up your mind, too.

The drinking fed a self-destructive spiral. Like the drugs I was taking for the arthritis, alcohol was a depressant - and when I took them in combination, their depressive effects multiplied. I started to question whether life was really worth living.

Like the drugs, the alcohol was also a disinhibitor. And, in my case, an intense and immense anger would come out of me when I was disinhibited.

Eventually, I became dependent on vodka. I never drank to excess before a show; alcohol didn’t damage my work, but it did damage me personally…

I hit my lowest point in 2002 during rehearsals for the play of The Graduate, which was about to open in New York after a successful London run. At the intermission, I peeled off to a restaurant to collect some shopping bags I’d left there earlier.

But when I arrived, I had a vodka. Then I had another vodka. And another. How many, I don’t remember. At some point, I collapsed in the bathroom. Very discreetly, the manager got me up to the office and called my husband.

Evidently, I fought Jay when he got there. He had to call a friend, who came to help bundle me into a car. Somehow, I’d turned from a charming drinker who could be the life and soul of a party into a really nasty drunk. Nor was it the first time I’d been drinking until I passed out.

The next day, after I’d apologised to Jay, I went to rehearsal and said to the cast: “I’m having a drinking problem. I have these pills that will make me desperately ill if I drink. I’m going to give them to the stage manager and he’s going to give me one a day. I will not be a problem again.”

[Excerpt from Send Yourself Roses by Kathleen Turner, available on The Daily Mail]

Turner says that she was “drinking to excess on occasion right up till two years ago. I’d be fine during the working week and then, on my day off, I’d drink too much.”

I saw her on stage in the one-woman show Tallulah in 2000, where she portrayed the actress Tallulah Bankhead and her decent into alcoholism. She was fabulous on it, and it seemed like she had a lot of personal experience to draw on. Turner, now 53, has gained some weight since she was on stage in Tallulah. She’s probably had some plastic surgery but it’s subtle and not overdone. Good for her for speaking candidly about her addictions and maybe she can help others by speaking out.

According to Turner’s website and IMDB, she had a guest appearance on Nip/Tuck in 2006 and was in stage performances in NY in “The Exonerated” in 2003 and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” in 2005.

Turner is shown below on 11/30/06, thanks to PRPhotos.

David’s Hasselhoff’s battle with alcoholism has continued well beyond the floor burger-eating video seen around the world. The National Enquirer notes that he’s been in the hospital four different times for alcohol poisoning since last October and that he was in and out of Cedars-Sinai twice in December for alcohol detox.

His family is worried sick about him and three of his sisters as well as his two teenage daughters, Haley, 15, and Taylor, 17, staged an intervention in early December. The Hoff spent Christmas and New Years in a rehab in Hawaii.

“David would drink a gallon of vodka and then pass out. He’d check into the hospital, come out, say he was fine, then do it again,” said the source.

During one of his last drinking bouts, the ex “Knight Rider” hunk even asked his 17-year-old daughter Taylor to drive to a liquor store for vodka, the family friend revealed.

“Taylor refused, and David tried to drive off. When his other daughter Hayley, who’s 15, tried to stop him, he scratched her hands,” said the source.

Finally, on December 8, the morning after his final hospital stay, Hasselhoff’s two daughters and three of his sisters confronted him about his boozing, said the source.

“David’s sisters - who’d flown in from different cities - and his daughters pleaded with him to come to his senses and go to rehab,” the friend revealed.

“There was crying and hugging until David got it through his thick head that rehab was what he had to do.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, January 21, 2008]

David’s daughters visited him in Hawaii while he was at rehab and the source reports that they said that he seems to be making progress. The article doesn’t clarify whether he’s out now or is still in rehab on the island of Oahu.

In late November the Hoff was overheard bitching loudly about the state of his career, which probably hasn’t improved much since. His chance at even a minor recurring TV role on a sitcom will have to wait until the writer’s strike ends. According to IMDB he will appear in Anaconda 3: The Offspring, which is listed as a TV show in post-production. He is also in talks for a cameo in the Knight Rider television movie. It looks like a reality show would be the only hope for The Hoff in this bleak strike period. Celebrity Rehab 2 would be thrilled to have him, but even though he’s become something of a punch line he strikes me as too dignified for that.

David Hasselhoff is shown on 11/17 at the opening of Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino with Danny Devito and Rhea Perlman. Hasselhoff is 6′4″, and he makes those two look so little! Danny Devito is said to be 5 feet tall.

“30 Rock’s” Tracy Morgan’s wife Sabina has filed for divorce after 22 years of marriage, citing his long-term alcohol abuse. Morgan got a DUI in Hollywood in 2005 and a DWI in Manhattan in 2006. As a result he had to wear a Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitoring (SCRAM) bracelet around his ankle for six months, though he did get to take it off early due to some medical issues he was having with it. The couple separated last year, and Morgan confirmed to TV Guide that the couple was proceeding with a divorce. Though he stated that he was going through with it and that the pair were still good friends, according to Sabina, that’s not the whole story.

Comedian Tracey Morgan’s [sic] wife is filing for divorce, claiming the 30 Rock star has lost his battle with alcoholism. The 39-year-old star recently claimed he had been sober for months, spurred on by his three sons’ pleas for him to stay off alcohol. But Sabina, his wife of 22 years, claims he is back on the booze. She says, “I have to divorce him. I still have feelings for him, but the marriage is over. I’m having my lawyer file the divorce papers. I gave him every opportunity since August to stay in the marriage, but he’s failed. “It’s terrible that he’s drinking again. He knows he shouldn’t be doing that for so many reasons, his health especially.”

[From Contact Music]

I would assume that when Sabina cites Tracey’s health, she’s referring not just to the general detrimental health effects of alcoholism, but also to the fact that Morgan is diabetic. Most diabetics can drink a little, depending on their individual cases, but the heavy drinking associated with alcoholism would obviously be a pretty big problem. Tracy did a pretty good job of making everything sound all sweetness and light in his TV Guide interview, and didn’t really acknowledge his alcoholism.

TV Guide: Were you embarrassed about being arrested for drunk driving?
Morgan: Yeah. I never wanted to be a poster boy for that type of behavior. Drinking and driving is not a cool thing.

TV Guide: You were sentenced to wear an alcohol-monitoring bracelet for six months. What was that like?
Morgan: I was like the Man in the Iron Mask! It had hair all over it from my leg when I took it off.

TV Guide: What was the most annoying thing about it?
Morgan: Sores. It’s metal up against raw skin. Also, I’m diabetic. If I get a little scratch, it’s hard for it to heal.

TV Guide: How liberating was it to get it off?
Morgan: Well, it felt great not to be monitored. I’m a grown man. But it also felt weird. Because I had to live without alcohol for six months. So now it’s like, I can drink if I want. But do I want to? No. So I know it did good.

[From the Seattle P.I.]

Well clearly he didn’t do that “good,” as his drinking seems to still have been problematic enough to end his marriage. Tracy is really good on “30 Rock” – his character, Tracy Jordan, seems to be a mix of himself and vintage Eddie Murphy. Hopefully he’ll get his act together and not give “30 Rock” too much more real-life material to draw from.

Picture note by Jaybird: Header of Tracy Morgan leaving the Letterman Show on Tuesday. Images thanks to Splash Photos.