We’ve all been mislead into worrying about Brad Pitt’s drinking. Brad’s spent the better part of year talking about beer and getting liquored up and joking about being “a drunk”, but it looks like Brad’s real problem all along was the reefer. This is according to Dr. Drew, who has become famous for “diagnosing” celebrities without ever meeting them. He just judges them, with an aura of professionalism, by reading about them in Star Magazine or whatever. Last year, in a now infamous Playboy interview, Dr. Drew said that Tom Cruise exhibits the signs of “serious neglect in childhood – maybe some abuse, but mostly neglect.” Dr. Drew also insinuated that Angelina Jolie was probably using heroin while pregnant, and dismissed her work with the UNHCR as “global self-serving acts”. Back in June, Dr. Drew piped up again to talk some smack about Lindsay Lohan, saying that “she’s going to lose a limb or something before” she gets sober.

Now, some or many of you might agree with some or all of Dr. Drew’s opinions/diagnoses. Me? It’s one of my biggest peeves about the tabloids – I hate it when medical doctors or psychiatric professionals talk to the press about someone they are not treating. It lends a patina of medical credibility for what should remain in the realm of pure gossipy speculation. It’s cheap, it’s unprofessional, it’s unethical, and, in my mind, it’s libel. But there’s no stopping Dr. Drew. He just had to speak out about Brad Pitt’s reefer addiction, and why everything about Brad is just plain wrong:

Dr. Drew Pinsky — board certified addiction specialist & host of Celebrity Rehab — has some advice for actor Brad Pitt who recently revealed to Bill Maher that he no longer smokes marijiuana because he became a father.

Dr. Drew tells RadarOnline.com exclusively, “You have to wonder how much pot Brad was smoking. Was it a chronic problem? I don’t know. But to the extent that he had to quit because he felt it was interfering with his parenting abilities is bothersome.”

Drew says the number one mistake parents make is admitting to their children that they did drugs. “I see it all the time with my patients. Parents tell their son/daughter that they did drugs, and then they warn them about the hazards of drugs. But in the child’s adolescent mind, it’s hypocrisy. Their parents did it, and they are ok.”

Dr. Drew says the only time it’s acceptable to tell the children is if they, the parents, are in recovery. Drew has specific advice for daddy Pitt when one the members of the Brangelina brood inquires about his pot smoking days.

“Don’t lie to your kids. The horse is out of the barn. Here is what I would tell him (Brad Pitt) to say I wish I hadn’t said that, it would have been better for you to not know what I did or didn’t do. The fact is why is here is why I think you shouldn’t do it, or I would say I was so badly addicted I had to struggle with it, to stop to make sure I was available to parent you. It’s an unusual situation with this public conversation.”

Another concern Drew has for the Pitt children, are all of the moves the family makes.

“Multiple moves are very destructive for kids. I can’t say it’s necessarily going to harm them. They never develop any stable relationships with their peers. It’s very traumatic on many levels. A couple of VH1 programs coming up, some of the patients have moved 20 or more times.”

The third season of Celebrity Rehab is set to premiere on VH1 in early 2010.

[From Radar]

God, I couldn’t disagree more. Unless you (as a parent) are talking a child with significant mental disabilities, most adolescent kids get the difference between “mom’s being a hypocrite” and “mom’s being honest about her drug usage, I should listen and learn.” And I hate when anyone equates smoking pot to heroin or anything harder. It’s not. Stop it. This isn’t the first time Dr. Drew has been in utter disbelief that someone could smoke a joint once, and not immediately need rehab and a lifetime of out-patient recovery. He sounds like an out-of-touch idiot when his advice is to tell kids “daddy was badly addicted to the reefer.” Enough.

In one last Brad Pitt story, if you’ve ever wanted to know what it feels and looks like to stalk Brad, Star Magazine has the up close and personal experience for you. Self-proclaimed “Manhattan-based Internet personality” Justin Ross Lee was on a plane with Brad, and he spent the entire flight surreptitiously filming and photographing Brad. Now he’s sold the photos and footage to Star Magazine, including his own little personal insights on the actor. Stuff like: “Brad had zero attitude and seemed like a regular guy — the kind of guy you’d like to have a beer with. Brad ate a full four-course meal with relish. Brad couldn’t possibly have been any more down to earth. He was a first-class guy all the way!” If you want to see Brad attacking airline food like a hungry dog, check it out. It’s kind of boring, actually.

Header is of Dr. Drew on 5/31/09 and Pitt on 8/12/09. Credit: PRPhotos. Picture below is of Brad drinking whisky at the after party for The Time Traveler’s Wife on 8/13/09.

Brad Pitt on Bill Maher Part 1: Mostly about Make It Right NOLA, architecture

Brad Pitt on Bill Maher Part 2: Religion & smoking weed

To promote Inglourious Basterds, Brad Pitt stopped by Real Time with Bill Maher Friday night. Brad barely spoke about the film, though, instead taking some time to talk about marijuana, politics, religion, and Make It Right NOLA. You Tube has the interview in two parts, above. The first half of the interview is mostly about New Orleans and architecture, Part 2 is about religion and smoking the reefer.

One of my favorite parts of the interview was when Maher asked Brad about his recent comments to Ann Curry, that he doesn’t “have a chance” if he decided to run for New Orleans mayor, because his platform would include “gay marriage, no religion, legalization and taxation of marijuana platform.” Brad told more to Maher:

Bill Maher: What is about religion that you don’t like?
Brad Pitt: I grew up in a religious family, in a religious community, and it just doesn’t make sense … for me. It doesn’t work for me in the long run. I never wanted to step on anyone else’s religion, beliefs, that’s what’s great about our country, until I started seeing it defining policy. Like gay marriage. You have a group of people telling other people how to live their lives, and you can’t do that. In fact, I’m talking like there are actually Christians watching your show…
Maher: No, there are. You’d be surprised.
Pitt: Well, to the three that are watching, I just say you have to, you really have to check what country you’re living in because the freedom that allows you to practice religion is the same freedom you’re stepping on. That’s not right. And I want to add… if there was a nation of gay married couples that were telling you you couldn’t practice your religion, I’d be speaking up for you, too… So, let’s stop the nonsense.

[Transcribed from Real Time with Bill Maher]

Also, when Bill Maher tells a story about how he and Brad were at a New Year’s party years ago, Bill saw Brad rolling “the most perfect” joints he had ever seen. Brad joked, “I’m an artist!” Maher asks why Brad gave up smoking weed, as Brad admitted to in his recent Parade interview, and Brad replied, “I’m a dad now. You want to be alert and my eyes used to glaze over when I did that.”

It was an interesting interview, and I was happily surprised by how much respect Maher and Pitt seemed to have for each other. Bill Maher is not a man who tolerates fools, and he seemed happy enough to let Brad talk for five minutes about Make It Right NOLA, and both Pitt and Maher seemed to hold back from making some harsh comments about various politicians. Maher did roll his eyes and groan a little when Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s name was mentioned, but Brad tamped it down.

Megan Fox and Shia LaBeouf are potheads. They are joined at the gravity bong. Their romance is enhanced by the Chronic. They don’t fear the reefer. So says the National Enquirer, where the editor pulled together some old quotes from Megan and Shia talking about how they (separately) love the marijuana, and threw in some new quotes from an “insider” saying that Shia and Megan “joke about growing old together as an eccentric hippie couple.” I’ve actually never read too much about Shia being a current pothead, but he’s given recent interviews about his own naked, reefer-smoking hippie parents.

Megan Fox and Shia LaBeouf are in love – with smoking reefer!

The co-stars of the summer blockbuster Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen play coy about whether they’re lovers in real life, but both admit they love the “high” life!

“Megan and Shia are very vocal about their pro-marijuana stance,” divulged an insider. “They’ve both indulged, and they’ve had many lively late-night conversations about how marijuana should be legalized.

“They also support hemp as an alternative energy source, and they joke about growing old together as an eccentric hippie couple.”

Foxy Megan confessed, “I can’t tell you how much I’ve been through because I will openly say that I smoke weed. People look at it like it’s this crazy, hippie thing to do. And it’s not. I hope they legalize it. And when they do, I’ll be the first person in line to buy my pack of joints.”

Shia has often talked about his unconventional upbringing, including father-son toke fests and a hemp-centric head shop owned by his mom.

“I grew up with a bunch of hippies, and marijuana was always around,” the stoner thesp revealed. “Pot was never looked at as a negative thing. I could smoke it on holidays with my parents, and we were all good. I like pot. I can put limits on it.”

Just don’t drive when tokin’ Shia – might cost you another finger!

[From National Enquirer]

See, I think Megan Fox talks about smoking pot because she thinks talking about it (or doing it) makes her edgy or cool. Shia actually strikes me as the genuine stoner. He reminds me of a bunch of guys I went to college with – the funny, cute guys who thought it would be hilarious to try to give the dog a contact high. Those guys. That must be why I like Shia – he seems so familiar to me. And perhaps I don’t care for Megan because she seems like a total pot poseur. Or is she a genuine stoner? It would certainly explain all the dumb stuff she says.

Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox are shown at the “Eagle Eye” premiere on 9/16/08. Credit: PRPhotos

Yesterday, I gave myself an embargo on Megan Fox stories. The girl just can’t keep her mouth shut, and every time she speaks it’s either something inane or crass. I was a little sick of it. But once I declared an embargo, it seems Megan was trying to reach in and grab me, force me to somehow repeat all of her dumb quotes. Anyway, Megan is now trying to clarify some of her old statements – but the statements she’s back-tracking from aren’t even the most offensive! She’s clarifying her quotes about marijuana – a few weeks ago we reported on Megan’s comments in her GQ UK interview where she talked about the legalization of marijuana. Megan’s words were, “America’s war on drugs is propaganda…I can’t tell you how much bulls**t I’ve been through because I will openly say that I smoke weed. People look at it like it’s this crazy, hippy, f***ed-up thing to do. And it’s not! I hope they legalize it and when they do I’ll be the first f***ing person in line to buy my pack of joints.”

Megan offered her justification for those quotes in a press conference for Transformers, saying that she’s not “going into clubs and using cocaine.” She just wants to see pot legalized:

Megan Fox has defended her comments about making marijuana legal.

The Transformers actress, who stars in Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen with Shia LaBeouf, caused controversy after her remarks about smoking cannabis in an interview with GQ magazine.

“I wouldn’t call it recreational drug use… that makes me sound like I’m going into clubs and using cocaine,” she corrected at a press conference in London, adding: “I talked about the legalisation of marijuana, which I think in the United States it should be.”

She added: “If alcohol is legal, I just think marijuana should be, that’s all.”

Megan also admitted that she’s torn between being completely open or staying schtum in interviews.

“I feel like I have the best intentions when I do these interviews and when I speak the way that I do, but it’s unfortunate when journalists choose to knowingly twist the meaning of my words,” she said.

“And that discourages me from being outspoken and honest, but it’s something I want to do. I hate reading or watching bulls**t interviews, and watching these things that have been created and presented to you on television, that are fake or manufactured. I am trying not to be one of those.”

[From The Press Association]

She hates people being fake or manufactured? This is Megan Fox we‘re talking about – the Budget Jolie, the girl who has “original” thoughts like claiming to be bisexual, whining about how beautiful she is, and making fun of anyone smarter than her. “Faux” is her middle name.

Also, I’ve got more brilliant Megan Fox quotes. Here’s one from Starpulse, about her early childhood: “I played with Barbies but I used to decapitate them. I used to take their heads off then dye their hair and do weird things.” Edgy. Megan’s so misunderstood, even as a young child with her original nose, chin, forehead and cheeks she was so much cooler and more destructive than any of us. Megan also was talking about her big, ugly tattoos recently, and said that tattoos are “definitely addictive. I don’t have any that I truly regret yet, but I’m sure I will at some point. I’m trying to refrain from going forward for that reason. I don’t want to be 40, looking at my arm in the mirror and going, ‘Oh my God — what did I do?” Too late! I already see this in Megan’s future.

Megan Fox is shown in stills from Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen, thanks to Allmoviephoto

We’ve already heard a little from Megan Fox’s epic GQ (UK) interview – namely, that all actors are prostitutes, and it’s totally gross, in Megan’s mind. Now we’ve got some more excerpts from the interview (because GQ didn’t release the complete interview, we’re just getting excerpts here and there), and they’re just as… is there really a word for what Megan is? She’s very quotable, and nearly every interview she gives gets massive publicity, which I suppose is good if you’re promoting a movie. But after reading and covering my fair share of Megan Fox interviews, I think I’m qualified in saying that the girl’s not very bright, and it wouldn’t be the worst thing if her publicist or the studio told her not to speak anymore. She seems to be hellbent on talking herself out of jobs. Which is fine (if you like movies with good acting).

First up, Megan Fox is talking about how she’s so hardcore because she smokes weed, and she defends pot-smokers everywhere. She says that when pot is finally legalized, she will be “the first f*cking person in line.” She’s so tough. But they also have another little excerpt from the interview where she’s talking about how Sex and the City: The Movie totally sucked. Megan wins that point:

Megan Fox wants the government to legalize cannabis.

The Transformers star, 23, insists there is nothing wrong with enjoying the occasional spliff.

“America’s war on drugs is propaganda,” Fox tells GQ magazine. “I can’t tell you how much bulls**t I’ve been through because I will openly say that I smoke weed. People look at it like it’s this crazy, hippy, f***ed-up thing to do. And it’s not!”

“I hope they legalize it and when they do I’ll be the first f***ing person in line to buy my pack of joints.”

Megan then went on to criticize the recent Sex and The City movie.

“Sex And The City: The Movie was so tragic,” she said. “Costume dramas bore me and Hollywood comedies are total garbage, not funny at all. Fame doesn’t mean anything because anyone can be famous, and TV news is mindless bulls**t.”

[From Showbiz Spy]

SATC: The Movie was tragic! I was so disappointed. Lord, Megan Fox and I have something in common. Does this mean I have to get some big, ugly tattoos now? Anyhoodle, in the next excerpt from GQ, we have Megan talking about the casting couch. The casting couch is always interesting Hollywood lore, but I always wonder how much of that sex-for-stardom stuff really happens anymore. According to Megan, she’s had to deal with casting-couch situations several times:

Megan Fox has blown apart Hollywood’s casting couch culture – insisting several leading film directors have tried to bed her since she found fame.

The Transformers beauty has attended a number meetings with top moviemakers to discuss potential roles. But she was shocked when they made moves on her during the interviews – and immediately turned them down.

Fox, who refuses to name names, tells Britain’s GQ magazine, “Any casting couch s**t I’ve experienced has been since I’ve become famous. It’s really so heartbreaking. Some of these people! Like Hollywood legends. You think you’re going to meet them and you’re so excited, like, ‘I can’t believe this person wants to have a conversation with me,’ and you get there and you realize that’s not what they want, at all. It’s happened a lot this year actually.”

[From Starpulse]

Do you think it’s really happened to Megan? Here’s what I think happened – some of those older Hollywood heavyweights simply hit on her, and tried to get her into bed, but it wasn’t necessarily a casting couch situation. It wasn’t like Megan came in for a meeting with a producer and was told that she had to have sex to get the part. That’s what I think, anyway – but I could be wrong. Maybe the casting couch is an prevalent today as it was during Hollywood’s Golden Era.

Header image credit: AXELLE/Bauergriffinonline from 5/31/09. Other images are of Megan at LAX on 6/6/09. Credit: WENN.com

Actor/scientologist/couch jumper Tom Cruise is reportedly miffed that a new strain of medical marijuana has been nicknamed in his dubious honor. The weed, dubbed “Tom Cruise Purple” on the street, reportedly is so potent, it makes you see things that aren’t there. Although, since it’s named for Cruise, it should make you dance around your house in your underpants and socks to “Old Time Rock n’ Roll.” Cruise, who has been embarrassingly vocal about his objection to prescription drugs, isn’t flattered by the moniker and wants his legal team to put the kibosh on it, according to rumors.

Tom Cruise isn’t getting any giggles from a new strain of medical marijuana being marketed as “Tom Cruise Purple.”

Word is that the actor’s lawyers are taking a serious look at the strong brand of bud after we brought it to their attention.

One of Cruise’s friends found it “outrageous” that licensed cannabis clubs in Northern California are selling vials of pot featuring a picture of Cruise laughing hysterically.

Like other followers of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, Cruise is opposed to the use of psychotropic drugs.

Staffers at several California clinics we called said they were forbidden to discuss any of the herbal varieties in their “inventory.”

But one weed devotee said, “I heard it’s the kind of pot that makes you hallucinate.”

[From Rush & Malloy]

Tom– if it weren’t prescription strength, would that make you feel better about it? What a bunch of rubbish. What is his lawyer going to do- bust into every pot party in Southern California and slap the hippies with an injunction every time their client’s name is mentioned? Good luck with that. Just when I thought Tom might actually be getting his sense of humor back.