Dr. Drew Pinsky has spoken out after the suicide of Mindy McCready yesterday , and in the day since her tragic death, one topic that keeps coming up is the increasingly poor survival odds former cast members of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew seem to have after they appear on the reality drama.
Before Celebrity Rehab , Dr. Drew Pinsky became notable for his love advice on Loveline — and the VH1 rehab show that followed had many successes, but also many tragedies. Mindy McCready is the fifth former cast member of the show to pass away in just two years, and Pinsky has been brought up since the most recent Celebrity Rehab death Sunday.
One vocal critic of Dr. Drew Pinsky was singer Richard Marx, who later apologized but first said after news of Mindy McCready’s death came to light :
“I think ‘Dr’ Drew Pinsky should change his name to Kevorkian. Same results.”
Pinsky did not address the comments about the fates of cast members who died, but he did have some heartfelt words after Mindy McCready’s death — and he says he had reached out to the troubled singer before her death.
Dr. Drew spoke to People today about Mindy, and had this to say after her suicide:
“I am deeply saddened by this awful news. My heart goes out to Mindy’s family and children. She is a lovely woman who will be missed by many … Although I have not treated her for a few years, I had reached out to her recently upon hearing about the apparent suicide of her boyfriend and father of her younger children. She was devastated.”
Pinsky added:
“Although she was fearful of stigma and ridicule she agreed with me that she needed to make her health and safety a priority. Unfortunately it seems that Mindy did not sustain her treatment … Mental health issues can be life threatening and need to be treated with the same intensity and resources as any other dangerous potentially life threatening medical condition.”
He concludes:
“Treatment is effective. If someone you know is suffering please be sure he or she gets help and maintains treatment.”
Do you think Dr. Drew Pinsky’s show can do more harm than good for troubled celebrities like Mindy McCready?
