A few weeks ago, Josh Brolin got into a fistfight with some dude (a bouncer?) at a bar. TMZ got their hands on video from the fistfight, and I couldn’t even make myself watch the whole thing. Josh is a 45 year old dude with two kids and this is just not a good look. It’s not a good look on younger guys who get all drunk and aggressive either, but it’s particularly unflattering when it’s a 45 year old movie star. Here’s the video, if you care:
This fistfight was merely the last incident in a lengthy timeline of alcohol-soaked violent and sketchy shenanigans. So, was this incident the “breaking point” for Josh? God knows. You would think that his marriage (to the lovely Diane Lane) falling apart would be the breaking point, but I guess not. So, long story short, Josh is going to rehab:
Josh Brolin is seeking help for substance abuse. The 45-year-old actor checked into rehab recently in Northern California, sources exclusively confirm to Us Weekly.
“He realized he needed help and is committed to his sobriety,” an insider tells Us.
The news comes shortly after Brolin was caught on tape allegedly getting into a drunken fistfight with an unknown male at O’Brien’s Irish Pub in Santa Monica, Calif. on Saturday, Nov. 2. TMZ reported that the incident occurred near the front entrance of the bar after it closed at 2 a.m. The fight came to an end, however, with Brolin sharing a hug with the other man. That same weekend, Brolin was also caught on camera getting into an alleged verbal altercation with a cab driver at a Los Angeles Del Taco drive-thru.
On Monday, Nov. 4, Brolin told TMZ that he was done with drinking for good. When asked if he regretted the incidents from over the weekend, the Gangster Squad actor said, “Absolutely, it won’t be happening again.”
“Are you going to be laying off the booze a bit?” TMZ asked. “That’s it,” Brolin said. “Completely done.”
Brolin and his now ex-wife Diane Lane exclusively told Us Weekly in February 2008 that they were divorcing after eight years of marriage. The divorce has yet to be finalized.
The way I feel about Josh Brolin is strikingly similar to how I feel about Alec Baldwin – brilliant, talented and incredibly “watchable” on-screen, but in their personal lives, they are monsters. Alec’s drug of choice is RAGE and Josh’s drug of choice seems to be alcohol. Maybe some blow too? I think that’s what “seeking help for substance abuse” means. If it was just booze, they would have said it was just booze. It must have been more than booze. Anyway, here’s hoping that Josh gets a handle on his demons and they comes out of this process a better man. Eh.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I hope this is a turning point for him. He is a very talented actor, but his off screen behavior makes it hard to appreciate that. I hope this works for him.
Agree. I hope he finally sorts himself out.
Good lord. Good for him.
Totally agree Kaiser. This man is immensely talented, and I hope he gets some real help.
Ahhhh it’s all fun and games till someone goes to Rehab. 😉
I guess there’s been too much attention paid to his loutish behavior and not
enough on his work.
If only he could take Alec Baldwin (good actor actually) and other Sean Penn (good actor but too much ego) with him…
He’s a good-looking guy but the mean frat boy antics really detract from all that is good about him.
Hope the rehab works.
He’s a great actor but a gross human being, I feel the same way about Penn.
Nice to see Josh realizing he needs help. I hope it works out for him.
Now if only Mayor Rob Ford of Toronto would do the same. Maybe Rob reads Celebitchy?
I think Celebitchy should be required reading material for PR agents–we should have a separate section where we can tell PR flaks what to do, how transparent some of their PR really is….
I think this is a big PR thing to change the public perception of him from an abusive drunk in order to compete in the Oscar race for the movie “Labor Day” were he’s supposed to come off kind of romantic/redemptive. Especially since he had those two recent incidences and that fight in New Orleans.
Ugh, maybe. But if it results in his sobriety then I’d say it will have been worth it even if his motivation was less than pure.
The thing is I don’t believe he’s really going to this rehab. I think he’s just going to lay low and is having his team (through US Weekly who are known to work with actors PR) put out this story to make him look like he’s trying to get himself together. Than when he comes back he’ll be telling all of the mags about what a changed person he is and blah blah blah. It’s not as if he couldn’t have gone to rehab without the announcement, look how Zac Efron went and no one even knew until after his rehab stint. But since there weren’t stories about Efron’s drug use and partying ways out in the public sphere, he and his team didn’t feel the need to tell everyone that he was getting help. Brolin and his team are making sure the public knows, so that this will offset the stories about his crappy public behavior.
Well, Oldboy comes out on Nov. 27th and the New York premiere was just the other night. There were no pictures of him on the red carpet, it didn’t look like he was there. Now we know why. It’s kind of odd to miss the premiere of your movie, especially when you are the lead. So maybe his PR team felt it was necessary to explain why he wasn’t there. Perhaps if he didn’t have a movie out right now, we wouldn’t be hearing about the rehab. I dunno…
It’s the same for a lot of actors, look Rhys-meyer, they talked about rehab and always the same behaviour, but perhaps it’s true and he really wants to change for him, his family
I’ve loved him since WAY back in his Young Riders days (that was ages ago, I know). He is so talented, and I was so glad when his film career started to take off, but this behavior is pretty inexcusable. The way he treated his wife was extremely troubling, and I can’t admire someone who does such things. I really hope he is able to conquor his demons.
Jimmy Hickok forever! ! He was so damn beautiful then. Still is. He’s often talked about his mom and what it was like growing up with her. He’s mentioned that she didn’t consider acting to be “manly enough” and once when he was young, and got arrested for fighting, his mom came to visit him in jail. He’s said there was a smile on her face–of pride– and he’s always trying to get that smile back. It’s pretty messed up sh-t. She wound up dying in a car crash when he was 27. I think that sometimes our parents damage us, and it takes a really, really long time to sort it out. I wish him all the best.
I fell in love with him in the Goonies. Goonies
never say die!
Kudos to him! He looks so handsome in a suit.
Poor Diane, it seems like she tried her best to stick with him. For the sake of their kids I hope he gets himself together.
baldwin is a dry drunk
Oh crap, they caught him on tape?! God. If I was a celebrity, especially a really famous one, you’d never see me out in public. I’d be too scared that the paps would actually catch me doing something stupid the ONE TIME I actually did it. I hope he’s serious about getting help–I would’ve thought that his wife leaving his sorry ass would put him in gear, but I guess it doesn’t work for some people.
Young Riders and The Goonies! He is such a clever guy and was married to one of the most beautiful actresses ever. Hope he sorts his shit out!