We have an interview with Terri Cheney, author of Manic: A Memoir, which tells the harrowing story of her struggle with bipolar disorder. Ms. Cheny is a former Hollywood entertainment and intellectual property lawyer who represented high-profile clients such as Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones. She suffered bipolar disorder for years, and can understand Britney’s behavior and see the parallels to her own battle with mental illness. She provides us with her unique insight in this exclusive interview.

Ms. Cheney speaks candidly of her feelings of invulnerability at the height of her illness and the way she coped with the occasional pang of guilt. We should feel compassion for Britney, but hold her to the same standards as the rest of society, she maintains. As for Britney’s chances at recovery, Ms. Cheney is an example of how bipolar sufferers can turn their lives around with the help of professionals, but she says it has to happen from within first.

As for what Britney is feeling right now, I know a lot from my own experience. Even though I was a well-educated attorney, when I was at the height of mania, I didn’t have a clue what was going on with me. I refused to listen to what anyone around me was saying, because I felt completely invulnerable - very similar to how Britney has shut out her family and friends. Only now and then, I’d be forced to confront the consequences of my erratic behavior. Then I’d feel a twinge of terror, realizing that I was at the mercy of forces I couldn’t control. But that moment of awareness would quickly pass, and in a heartbeat I’d feel invulnerable again.

2) Is it fair for us to impose our standards of “normal behavior” on someone suffering from severe bipolar disorder, if that is indeed what is going on with Britney?

I don’t think Britney is entitled to any special exemptions from social convention, just because she is a celebrity who may be suffering from a mental disorder. What she does deserve, however, is our enlightened compassion. Her conduct may not merit our sympathy, but her illness does.

3) What is the difference between histrionic personality disorder and bipolar disorder and how do we know Britney has one and not the other or both?

Personality disorders involve pervasive patterns of behavior and symptoms, which psychiatrists have grouped into various classifications. “Histrionic personality disorder” is characterized by overly dramatic behavior and exhibitionism, excessive attention-seeking, hypersexuality, etc.

Bipolar disorder, however, is a chemical imbalance in the neurotransmitters required for healthy functioning of the brain. It is first and foremost a physical disease.

It is certainly possible for a person to have a personality disorder along with bipolar disorder. Only a thorough psychiatric evaluation can determine whether Britney has one, or both - and, to my knowledge, she has yet to undergo such an evaluation.

4) Is there any chance for Britney to get better and what does she need to do to start making that change?

I think once Britney gets the help she needs, she has every chance in the world of finding her way back to sanity. As I described in my book “Manic,” I suffered severely from bipolar disorder for many years — terrible episodes of dangerous mania, followed by crushing bouts of depression. For me, medication made all the difference. It was the foundation on which my recovery was built. Individual and group therapy have also been very helpful.

The critical step for anyone who may be suffering from bipolar disorder, especially someone as out of control as Britney, is to find a good doctor. With Britney’s resources, she obviously has access to the best medical care in the world. I only hope she finds a moment of clarity to say, “I need help.” Change can’t happen without her cooperation.

Ms. Cheney’s book, Manic: A Memoir, is available on Amazon.com. You can learn more about her and the book on her website, TerriCheney.com.

A picture of a semi-nude Britney in a store on June 25th, 2007
Britney Spears made another pit stop on her long trip to crazy town. And it really is becoming clearer and clearer that Spears is suffering from severe mental illness, not just immaturity and super selfishness. Life & Style is reporting that on Sunday, the day before her custody hearing, Britney and paparazzo boyfriend Adnan Ghalib went to a Betsey Johnson store in a Sherman Oaks, California mall. Shopping for a new sweater or a crazy dress perhaps? No. Why do that at a store when you can strip down to absolute nothingness and flash your unbridled crazy to the other shoppers?

Britney Spears stunned sales staff at a Betsey Johnson store in Sherman Oaks, California on Sunday when she stepped out of a fitting room completely naked. A day before Spears’ bizarre antics outside a Los Angeles courthouse cost her visitation rights to her young son for a month, the singer was stripping in front of shoppers.

Spears and her paparazzi boyfriend Adnan Ghalib caused a stir at the upmarket store upon their arrival, and as trendy shoppers watched, Spears grabbed a Betsey Johnson dress and took it to a fitting room. But when she re-appeared, she wasn’t wearing the dress or what she had on when she entered the store.

One store employee who witnessed Spears’ shocking display tells Life & Style magazine, “I was blown away. Britney’s private parts were right in front of me! I grabbed a dress to cover her and she screamed, ‘Get away from me! Don’t you *****ng come near me!’”

[From ABC Action News]

After both Britney and Adnan walked back into the dressing room (Brit still naked, of course) the two reportedly spent half an hour in there alone. When they deigned to come out, another employee says that Britney was completely incoherent.

“I couldn’t understand a word she was saying. She was slurring and spitting, and talking with a British accent… I wanted to help her, but she was so mean that I left her alone.”

[From ABC Action News]

I can’t tell if the employee is insinuating that Britney (and possibly Adnan?) did drugs in the dressing room, or that the pair also had sex. Whatever they were doing, it’s clear the employee’s impression was that it was certainly illicit. I can think of few things that bode worse for her mental health than stripping naked in a store and cursing and yelling at people when they try to cover you up. And then doing drugs and/or having sex in a semi-public setting. Well, except for holding one of your kids hostage. That would definitely be worse.

Note by Celebitchy: Splash News reminds us that this isn’t the first time Britney has stripped naked while trying on clothes. The header photo, which shows a little nip and is NSFW, is from June 25, 2007.

Paula Abdul has a long history of acting like a complete whack job. And then blaming it all on her pain meds. That excuse only goes so far. It can technically explain you acting loopy and drunk on a Seattle morning news show, even if no one buys it. It can’t explain you sounding like you swallowed a poltergeist. Paula Abdul was waiting at LAX (the airport, not the super-hip nightclub) when she went on some sort of psychotic bender according to passengers.

Paula Abdul, the braying, oft-drunk judge of landmark cultural institution American Idol, caused quite the scene at LAX over the holidays, according to a source. Says a tipster who saw her in the Continental Airlines terminal: “She had an insane nervous breakdown that lasted 10 minutes. One minute she was hyperventilating and on the verge of passing out; the next she was yelling into her cell phone in this deep, rage-filled Poltergeist voice. She kept screaming three names over and over—Michael, Sidney, and Leslie. Everyone was staring at her, but she didn’t care.”

There were no cameras around, so she wasn’t filming a scene for her train wreck reality show on Bravo. Still, hysterical outbursts aren’t exactly new territory for Abdul. Anyone have an idea what prompted this one? Or who Michael, Sidney, and Leslie might be? Let us know!

[From Radaronline]

I haven’t actually seen her reality show “Hey Paula” but I know there was some debate regarding whether she was really crazy or just playing it up for the cameras. Until this most recent incident, Paula did always seem way too cheerful when she was acting all straightjacket-worthy. If this were almost anyone other than Paula Abdul, I’d be skeptical as to the veracity of the story. But it is Paula Abdul, and she’s eight kinds of crazy. You could tell me she scampered up a palm tree in the middle of Sunset Boulevard and I would absolutely believe it. In fact I’m kind of surprised she hasn’t done that yet. But give it until the end of the month, I’m sure Paula will start speaking in tongues and scamper up some kind of tree to gnaw on the foliage by then.

Britney Spears has predictably lost visitation rights for her two children, Jayden James, 1, and Sean Preston, 2, after her very public breakdown that followed a hostage situation in which she locked herself in a bathroom for over three hours and refused to hand over her youngest child. She has temporarily lost all visitation by court order until another hearing can be held on January 14.

The issue of whether Britney should be held accountable for her actions is a contentious one, with many people claiming that Britney is insane and deserves our pity, not our condemnation.

How much of Britney’s behavior is she personally responsible for?
There’s a lot of debate in the Britney Spears case as to which behavior she’s personally responsible for and what can be chalked up to mental illness. This isn’t a new issue, and the answer isn’t black and white. She’s clearly mentally unstable, and might meet diagnostic criteria for a specific mental disorder, we’re not going to speculate too much but bipolar disorder, narcissistic personal disorder and even schizophrenia have been mentioned. Even if she is certifiably insane, how much of her behavior should she be held accountable for? I found some articles on the issue of mental illness and personal responsibility that were too technical for me to understand, but this question and answer from Yahoo! Canada Answers is interesting and food for thought:

Question from Desi Dani: If everything is due to chemical imbalances, where does personal responsibilities come into play? If man can use the excuse of being mentally ill or depressed, where does that leave personal responsibility? What about conscious choices? Is there an excuse for everything?

Why do people use the mental excuse when they have done something that is unbecoming; yet when they done something that is becoming it is a conscious choice, a personal decision?

Chosen Answer from Pete: Because personal responsibility doesn’t seem as common as it used to be. That’s not saying that mental illness shouldn’t be recognized, but people shouldn’t use it as an excuse for not being accountable for their actions.

[From Ca.Yahoo.com]

Andrea Yates drowned five of her children in the bathtub and she did it systematically, chasing them down until she caught and murdered all of them. She was declared clinically insane, and it seems you’d have to be to commit such a cruel act. Does that mean she shouldn’t spend the rest of her life in an institution because she was crazy and not responsible for her actions? Of course not. The criminal justice system sets it up so that she is not punished like a sane person who would have committed the same crime, but so that she is effectively removed from society and cannot harm others in the future.

Britney Spears took one of her children hostage and refused to hand him over by court order, even after police arrived at her home. Whether she was insane or not, she should have to face the consequences of her actions. If those consequences involve extended treatment for a mental illness instead of jail time then so be it. Either way, she’s not able to be around her children, even with supervision, and should possibly undergo treatment so that she doesn’t harm herself or others.

People are focused too much on criticism of Britney at what must be a very difficult time for her. There’s criticism of Britney because she committed a criminal act that endangered her child. If all crazy people who threatened and hurt others were pitied and coddled instead of ordered to undergo treatment and/or punished, society wouldn’t function. Did anyone really say “wow, I feel so sorry for Andrea Yates, being so crazy that the devil told her to drown her kids like that?” But some say they feel sorry for Britney for traumatizing her little boys by locking them with her in a bathroom. I feel sorry for her children, not so much for her.

Also it’s interesting to note that when Britney seemed sane and able to hold somewhat rational conversations, she never took responsibility for her actions.
1. She blamed her near-drop of Sean Preston in the street on the uneven road, not the fact that she was wearing too long pants and was carrying a highball glass at the same time.
2. She said after she was caught driving with Sean Preston on her lap that her dad did it too when she was growing up and that “we’re country like that.”
3. She didn’t even leave a note when she hit someone’s car and multiple people witnessed and taped it
4. She blamed her mother and manager for sending her to rehab
5. She has repeatedly flouted requirements and even basic demands in her custody battle

So is Britney a person who does whatever she wants and doesn’t take responsibility, or is she a person suffering from a mental illness that forces her to do these things? I think the answer is a lot of both with some major exhibitionism mixed in.

Here’s what JayBird has to say about the matter. She has a criminal justice degree and I like her very human approach to what happened. She wrote this to me in an e-mail, which is why it has a more conversational tone.

Commentary from JayBird: What I’m guessing happened with Britney last night is that one little thing got totally out of control. What probably started out as just an act of selfishness “No I don’t wanna” quickly escalated because she had someone involved with the criminal justice system (the monitor) there. She was probably behaving in a way that she has before, but she had someone there who wouldn’t react like the other people around her react. Then she probably got scared and didn’t know what to do. And when people start treating you like you’re REALLY crazy (not regular Britney crazy) you start to feel like you are, or feel like you have to act that way. Especially when you don’t have the maturity to know better. Also, people throw out things about killing themselves and things that sound like “self harm” to a professional, without necessarily meaning them in that way. But it’s hard to convince someone of that. Don’t get me wrong, I think Brit is crazy. But I don’t think there was enough evidence that she actually was asylum-worthy until last night. I’m really thinking she didn’t have any idea things would escalate the way they did, and thought people would just give in to her whims. The whole thing is so confusing, and oddly, it’s the only time I’ve ever had any sympathy for her.

The law of course varies greatly state by state, and all of my criminal justice knowledge is based on WA law. But in Washington, CPS would take her kids away for a one month period, during which time the burden would be on Britney to prove that she was a fit parent. Traditionally, the law does whatever it can to keep parents and kids together. However at this point, they’d be doing whatever they could to keep them apart.

I don’t know about you, but I think that she has an ethical personal responsibility to give up her kids, at least for now. Clearly she’s suffered a complete mental breakdown, and that can take a year or two to recover from. I almost think this might end up being a good thing for her. She wasn’t listening to anyone else before. But if the law gets involved not just in her parenting, but in her mental health, then she may be forced to get help.

As sad as it is, I think it’s really good that more and more public figures are coming out and talking about their battles with mental illness. It takes the stigma off of it, and lets the rest of us know that we shouldn’t feel ashamed or alone, and that everyone, no matter how successful, goes through times of struggle. Nicole Richie’s ex-fiancé, DJ AM (nee Adam Goldstein) recently gave an interview to Glamour magazine in which he talks about his past struggles with drugs, alcohol, obesity, and depression. Goldstein says his addictions and mental illness had gotten so out of hand that he tried to kill himself, putting a loaded gun into his mouth.

Addicted to crack cocaine, overweight, and miserable, “at 24 I felt like my life was over,” the hot Hollywood deejay, who has dated Nicole Richie and Mandy Moore, tells Glamour magazine.

“I went into my living room, reached into a cabinet above my TV and grabbed my gun, a loaded .22,” recalls the now 34-year-old. “I sat back on my heels, cocked it and put it into my mouth. I pulled the trigger. The gun didn’t go off. I thought, ‘Are you kidding me? I’m such an [expletive] failure I can’t even kill myself? I dropped the gun and broke down. That was the turning point in my life.”

[From People]

After that, DJ AM went into a recovery program where he worked on his addictions and began watching what he ate and exercising. Though he relapsed three months later, he started over again, knowing that his only options were to “recover or die.” He eventually had gastric bypass surgery, and has maintained both his sobriety and his weight loss.

“I no longer needed a trophy girlfriend or drugs to feel good about myself,” he says. “It’s been nine and a half years since I’ve had a drink or taken drugs. But every day I have to remind myself that no matter how much time I have behind me, I’m still a drug addict. At any given moment, I’m five seconds away from walking up to someone, grabbing their drink out of their hand and downing it. And if I do that, within a week, tops, I’ll be smoking crack.”

[From People]

Goldstein, who is equally known for his on-again, off-again relationship with Nicole Richie (who’s no stranger to drug addictions and weight issues herself), seems to be appreciative of what he has. Whenever his ego gets a little too big, he says, “I have to remind myself [that I’m] a fat crackhead who’s lucky to be alive.”

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s DJ AM at the Paris and Nicky Hilton-hosted New Year’s Eve 2008 Party at LAX Nightclub in Las Vegas. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Heather Mills’ blatant attempt for sympathy the other day has really sparked a nerve with the public – and with the press. Those were pretty much her two biggest foes, and striking out against the press hasn’t helped her image at all with the public. She pissed nearly everyone off by throwing out there (in a totally self-indulgent, pity me way) that the press has driven her to consider suicide. Though it didn’t seem possible, the British press now hates her more than ever – and she’s gotten a lot more negative press in America as a result. Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, gave some pretty good advice to Mills – and she might seriously consider taking it. The original Fergie got a lot of unflattering coverage in her heyday, but has really managed to turn her reputation around – and not by bellyaching about how hard it is to be wealthy and famous.

Sarah Ferguson, no stranger to unflattering coverage in the British press, can empathize with Heather Mills McCartney, but doesn’t have much sympathy for Paul McCartney’s estranged wife in her battle with the media. Mills McCartney, who is going through a bitter divorce with the ex-Beatle, went on a tirade this week against the British press on talk shows in London and the U.S.

Ferguson said she can understand Mills McCartney’s frustration. “It’s quite difficult when you’re in it - when it’s right in your face,” the Duchess of York told The Associated Press on Thursday night. “But there’s always a reason for it, so maybe you have to change something in yourself.”

“It’s give and take,” she said. “… If you are on the public stage, it’s your public stage. Otherwise, don’t be on the public stage. That’s what I really think. If you’re on it, accept it, if you don’t want to accept it, get off it.”

[From the Associated Press]

That’s perfect advice, and she essentially told Heather Mills that she is her own problem – but said it in a way that the dense Mills might be able to comprehend. Though who the hell knows with her. Though Mills has said and done a lot of “pity me” types of things over the years, I think this one is so grating because it’s just not something you throw out there. You only say things like that when you’re serious – and a famous person who was seriously suicidal wouldn’t tell the country about it as a way to get sympathy. I didn’t like Heather Mills before, but now it’s full-on war. I will use my Celebitchy platform to make the rest of the world hate you too. Oh look, already done.

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s the original Fergie at Isabella Blow’s Memorial Service on September 18th. Images thanks to PR Photos.

The Britney ban has been lifted, but we’ve vowed not to get carried away and report on her every little misadventure: “Britney goes to the deli!” “Britney forgets to wear shoes!” “Britney swats fly off arm!” “Britney goes to the deli and forgets to wear shoes and swats a fly off her arm!” But we will occasionally write about her - never more than once a day, with a goal of three times a week max. I have to admit to have a slight BS infatuation: such a public downward spiral is a bit addictive to watch. Plus you have to think back on when she was “normal” and ask yourself if she’s always been this crass and crazy (remember when she called everyone ma’am?) or did it just kick in a few years ago? These are the questions that keep me up at night. So with that caveat: our one Britney story of the week.

Britney Spears invited a man to snort cocaine off her chest during a wild party at her Hollywood mansion just two days after losing visitation rights to see her sons, it has been reported. Scott Kohler, 29, claims he and a group of 10 other strangers were invited to join Spears for a night of heavy partying on October 19, when the troubled star drowned her sorrows with vodka and cavorted with the men in her jacuzzi. And musician Kohler alleges the 25-year-old singer accepted an offer of cocaine from a fellow partygoer, after he “joked he wanted to do a line off (Spears’) chest, and she agreed”, reports British newspaper The Sun.

Kohler adds, “(Spears) was in a great mood. She didn’t have a care in the world.” The latest revelations will be a blow to Spears as she fights her ex-husband Kevin Federline for custody of two-year-old Sean Preston and one-year-old Jayden James. She has since won back visitation rights to see her two boys three times a week, but must comply with an earlier court order to undergo mandatory drug and alcohol tests and well as attend joint parenting sessions with dancer Federline. The former couple’s next custody hearing is set for November 26.

[From Starpulse]

Well I guess that explains more of Spears’ “Eat It, Lick It, Snort It, F**k it” comment to reporters last week, when asked how her case was going. I’m pretty sure that she tends to do all of those things at least twice an hour. Sometimes if she doesn’t have any cocaine or a guy around, she has to substitute one for the other, but Britney Spears is nothing if not industrious, right?

In other related news, Brit’s new album is actually getting some pretty good reviews, and is expected to perform decently, considering she won’t be doing any promotion for it. But she can use the CD to snort her cocaine from.

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s Britney driving home from a Halloween party at Park Beverly estates with her two sons Jayden James, Sean Preston and a friend. She appears to have attended at least three separate parties: Splash noted:. When Britney left the party an hour later her youngest son Jayden James looks quite visibly upset in the back seat of her car. Header image of Britney arriving at Heidi Klum’s Halloween party in Hollywood. There was also a third party where she donned a sombrero and harlequin mask. Images thanks to Splash Photos.

I go out of my way to be sympathetic towards anyone dealing with severe emotional issues or mental illness. But Heather Mills just gave an interview to Brittan’s GMTV in which she doesn’t come off as very genuine. She throws out that she has been suicidal in a very cavalier way. Most people truly suffering from feelings of extreme depression wouldn’t just toss that out there randomly. The way she says it reeks of attention seeking and is a blatant attempt to get sympathy. I would truly never want to be careless about someone giving a cry for help, but that absolutely does not seem like what Mills was doing.

Heather Mills broke down in tears on Britain’s GMTV on Wednesday, as she addressed her battles with the tabloid press and her ongoing divorce from Paul McCartney. In addition to daily run-ins with the paparazzi, the former Dancing with the Stars hopeful says she has “had it” with unflattering coverage in British papers. (One recent story in The Sun accused her of hosting a massive fireworks display at her home, which allegedly sent a neighbor’s dog into cardiac arrest.)

“Everything they write is complete rubbish,” the ex-model, 39, told the morning news program. “They’ve called me a ‘whore’, a ‘gold-digger,’ a ‘fantasist,’ a ‘liar’ and the most unbelievably hurtful things. … I’ve been so close to suicide.”

In her rambling – and often emotional – tirade, Mills also attacked articles that claim she’s turned down multi-million dollar divorce settlements from the former Beatle. “I’ve been offered nothing, okay? Nothing!” she said, claiming to be nearly $3 million “in debt in lawyers fees. And that’s as much as I can say now, or I go to jail for telling the truth. So I’m gagged at the moment, because I’m not allowed to say a word while the media are fed this spin by a certain corner.” Mills also claims that since her May 2006 split from the music icon, she has received numerous death threats.

[From People]

Mills just seems like she’s freaking out and throwing out whatever she thinks might make people feel badly for her. She’s been absolutely hated in the British press since they day she was first linked to Paul McCartney, and the hatred has only grown worse since the couple split. By most accounts she’s an utterly atrocious person to be around – demanding, rude, controlling, and with an undeserved sense of entitlement. But even given all that, her press coverage is so tyrannical you’d almost feel badly for her – if she didn’t constantly respond and tell everyone how wonderful she is, how hard her life is, and what a freaking miracle the world has received in the form of her gracious presence. Mills goes on to talk a bit more about her reasons for feeling suicidal… and again, they seem pretty disingenuous.

“A certain part of the tabloid media created such a hate campaign against me, that they put my life and my daughter’s life at risk,” she said. “That’s why I considered killing myself because I thought, if I’m dead, she’s safe and she can be with her father. And that’s the truth. I’m sick of it.”

[From People]

See that doesn’t sound like a suicidal thought pattern, that sounds like someone who wants you to feel badly for her. If she really is concerned for her daughter’s welfare, there’s a lot of things she can do – get more security, move, or just keep a lower profile. But a lower profile would mean she couldn’t constantly go on television because she’s all confused about why no one likes her. I really hope (though highly doubt) that she has advisors somewhere that explain to her that throwing out threats like that is pretty dangerous, and could lead to her losing custody of Beatrice.

Boy Amy Winehouse’s issues really are just right on the surface. I’m sure there’s a lot of crazy going on below that too, but there’s so much crazy that she can’t hide it, even in her saner moments. She says that most often, she can’t remember any of the crazy things she does in her drug-fueled rampages, like running through the streets of London crying and bleeding, being photographed buying drugs, having huge fights with her do-nothing husband Blake Fielder-Civil, and getting arrested for pot possession.

Interviewed in Hamburg prior to a concert there last week, Winehouse found the German reporter staring at the scars on her arms. “Those are wounds, old wounds. You know. I wasn’t well in August,” she said. But when the reporter asked if she was now clean of drugs, she snapped: “That’s none of your business.” Just days later, the couple were arrested in Norway on Oct. 18 for alleged marijuana possession.

Winehouse also admitted the haze that life has become for her. “Lots of times I have no idea what I’m doing. Not until the next day do I have any memory,” she said. “Blake tells me later what happened. And then I’m infinitely ashamed.”

Winehouse said she she’s sometimes shocked at the situations she gets into. “I recently saw a picture of me when I got out of the hospital. I didn’t even recognize myself,” she said. But, she added, she feels she needs the excesses. “I believe that the pain makes me feel alive. Being willing to suffer for something means that I’m not just apathetic about them.”

[From People]

Well that sounds all around unhealthy to me, in about 10 different ways. Amy Winehouse is so far beyond messed up that I do really feel badly for her. She’s completely lost touch with reality and sanity. We haven’t heard from her parents in a while, though her husband’s parents are always more than willing to talk to the press about how messed up Amy is – though not how their son is just as messed up, and often supplies and encourages Amy in her drug habit.

Within the month [of Amy’s overdose], Winehouse’s in-laws opened up about the hospital dash, and their daughter’s [in-law’s] problems with substance abuse. “We are in hell,” Georgette Fielder-Civil told PEOPLE. He added “People who take drugs don’t care about other people [but only care about their next fix].”

[From People]

Amy, always Blake’s unconditional champion, said that Blake saved her life that night. Well he might have, in that he took her to the hospital and didn’t just leave her dying in the gutter. But he also tagged along with her to rehab afterwards, then encouraged her to leave because he didn’t enjoy it. Since Amy’s overdose, Blake has frequently been reported using drugs with her. So he saved her life that night, but it seems likely he’ll probably play at least an enabling role in ending it one night too.

Although it’s been reported that Ben Stiller had to (or chose to, who knows) fire good friend Owen Wilson from his upcoming movie “Tropic Thunder” after Wilson attempted suicide, it appears the two are at least on speaking terms. Stiller was on Ellen DeGeneres’ show on Friday, and said that, though he tries not to talk about it too much, Wilson is doing a lot better. I really hope reports that Stiller fired him aren’t true, as that would make him a giant douchebag, and a terrible friend. People have the right to react to a suicide attempt however they want to, but I can’t imagine anything that would be more thoughtless.

“Ben Stiller says things are looking up for his longtime pal and frequent costar Owen Wilson. ‘He’s doing really well,’ Stiller, 41, tells Ellen DeGeneres on her show Friday. ‘I sort of like to protect his privacy, ’cause I feel like it’s his own thing,’ says Stiller. ‘But he’s a really good friend of mine. He’s an incredible guy and I wish him as everybody does, all the best.’

“Wilson, 38, was set to begin shooting the comedy Tropic Thunder with Stiller this month, but was hospitalized on Aug. 26 for what police called a suicide attempt. He dropped out of the film after issuing a statement requesting that he be allowed to ‘receive care and heal in private during this difficult time.’

“Wilson’s withdrawal from the project – which is about actors on a war movie location where a real battle erupts – was reportedly a mutual decision between him and Stiller, and Matthew McConaughey has stepped in to join the ensemble cast that includes Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr. and Nick Nolte.

“Speaking at Thursday night’s Westwood premiere of his and his son’s latest movie, The Heartbreak Kid, Ben’s dad Jerry Stiller, 80, expressed concern for his son’s best friend and said he was ‘surprised’ to hear of Wilson’s apparent suicide attempt – but he was sure that Wilson would ‘recover.’

“‘I know that he’ll put his life together,’ the elder Stiller, who also costarred with Wilson in 2001’s Zoolander, told PEOPLE. He added that his son has been ‘very close to Owen for most of their careers, and that Ben had been an ‘advocate’ in ‘intervention and all that stuff.’”

[From People]

So I guess they’re still going with the official “mutual decision” line about dropping out of the movie. That preserves everyone’s dignity. I wonder, when Jerry Stiller says that Ben has been an advocate for “intervention and all the stuff,” if he means in terms of Owen’s obvious depression, or his rumored drug/alcohol abuse. Hopefully Wilson will continue to get better, and has lots of loving and supportive people around him. As long as there are good people, he can get better and still have a really great career.

Picture Note by Jaybird: Here’s Ben Stiller with wife Christine Taylor at the premiere for his new movie, “The Heartbreak Kid” yesterday. Header image with mother Anne Meara Images thanks to PR Photos.