We haven’t spoken to Dr. Drew in a while, so we thought it’d be a good time to check in with him about what’s gone down on Celebrity Rehab 3 so far. Below, Drew talks seizures, misanthropy, Sizemore and, in an illuminating turn, Kari Ann’s progress. According to Drew, what you’re seeing on TV is only part of the story…
When we last saw Kari Ann on Sex Rehab, she was being sent away from the Pasadena Recovery Center because she needed a higher level of care.
She needed different care, yes.
She needed different care for sex rehab, or just in general?
Sex rehab. We didn’t know that she was a drug addict. We just knew that something was wrong, something wasn’t working. She needed a different kind of treatment. At that moment, she needed something more intensive. Now, she didn’t go for it, but she survived it. I didn’t know what was going to happen to her. Then she came clean about her drug addiction, so at that point, I offered her treatment for that. If you put someone in the right environment for the right diagnosis, they tend to do a lot better. And she does to a lot better. You don’t see that: the editing is just going to show all of her problems.
Clearly, I’m not a doctor or a psychic, but I could predict that what we end up seeing is what would happen: the fact that she doesn’t get along with people, and that everybody seems to have a problem with her. She seems like a distraction, to me.
Well, the actual distraction she caused lasted maybe two days out of her entire treatment. We tried to get her back in the game, and she actually came around.
I know that you’re completely professional and you don’t hold things against people, but it surprised me that Sex Rehab sort of broke the forth wall in a way when she said, “Dr. Drew, you’re a TV doctor!” and stormed out of the room. She questioned your legitimacy, and you don’t hold that against her, obviously.
No. Given her personality type, she was trying to reach for things that she knew would be the most hurtful. She’s sick and needs help, and I’m a doctor and I help patients. It’s pretty simple. If she’s willing to go with the program and follow instructions and try again. You don’t even want to know the things I’ve seen people do to staff, and we readmit them again. But that’s drug addiction. When people are in their disease, they can be horrible. And guess what? I’ve had people far worse than her, who have made me frightened for my life, who are now people I admire and are doing very well.
Speaking of that, Shelly bore a lot of the brunt of the Kari Ann storm in Sex Rehab, and we see her going through that again. Shelly actually says that Kari Ann has an inability to function in this environment.
She has trouble functioning in this environment, that’s for sure.
Was there ever any question in your mind about what this might do to the good of the group?
She was part of the group. And she was welcome and did well. There were long stretches of time where she didn’t do anything, when nothing happened. She participated.
I’d just like to touch on some other things that happened over the course of the season. Mindy McCready’s seizure was extremely unnerving. She seemed to recover well after that, though?
Yeah, amazingly. She’s had these before, this was not her first seizure. What I was worried about was the shoulder dislocation. You only see her a couple of days later wearing that brace. But there are about four of five days missing on TV, where a lot stuff happened with Kari Ann and Mindy. Good stuff happened, and it just didn’t go on TV. I was afraid that Mindy was going to be on pain meds, because when they reset her shoulder in the hospital, she was screaming. I could hear her screaming outside, it was so painful for her. But she agreed not to use the meds, and she didn’t. She maintained the drug-free environment, and her shoulder did OK. She forgot to tell me that she had a seizure disorder. I was so pissed at her! “Oh, I just forgot…” OK, well, thanks…
I assume Mackenzie was mortified for laughing at Mindy initially.
Oh yeah, it was terrible. And you can see why she thought she was goofing around.
Any overall thoughts on Mackenzie?
I had trouble figuring out why Mackenzie was staying sober. She understood the program, but I didn’t get the sense that there was a deep participation, you know? I eventually got to see the relationships she had operating in her life, and how connected she was to people. And then it became clear to me that she’s able to have real good quality close relationships, and her program has given her that, and that’s why she stayed sober.
There’s something about her that I find myself really drawn to watching it for some reason. She’s just particularly sympathetic to me.
Yeah, she’s awesome. And I think that’s why she came clean with her story: because she wanted to be seen as who she is. Not as, “Oh, just that drug addict. Mackenzie’s in trouble again.”
What about Tom? Here’s something that popped up in the comments a lot: people that that when Monroe kissed him when she came to visit him, she had passed him drugs.
No. I don’t think so. She actually tested clean when she was admitted, if I remember right.
I did think it was surprising that she was the one urging him to stay in rehab.
Yeah, she did. She was a good force for him, and she triggered him. It was a sight to behold. That was something else. What you didn’t see because it didn’t show up on camera was that the sweat was just dripping off his nose. It would just drip off him, he was craving so intensely.
Monroe is a lot more supportive than we’ve seen in other co-dependent relationships.
At this stage, yes. At this stage. With an addict, it’s not as though you can say, “This person is a problem, and this person is a participant.” It changes day to day.
Dennis Rodman finally admitted that he’s an alcoholic in last week’s episode. Did you think that he’s sincere about it?
Yeah. I just don’t think he appreciates what it means. “Yeah, I’m an alcoholic, but it’s still under control. No big deal.” He’s like, “You don’t understand, I’m Dennis Rodman. I’m an alcoholic, but I’m special.” And we call that “terminal uniqueness.” You’ve gotta watch out for that.
I thought that Heidi Fleiss, in a nutshell, was when she came out and says, “Boy, I hate people!”
I don’t believe that. Some people I believe when they say that, but I don’t believe that with her. I believe she may feel that right now, on top of a deep loneliness and emptiness, and she may kind of hate people, but she doesn’t really hate people.
It seems that her very publicized former job would require her to be somewhat of a people person. She has it in her, right?
Yeah, she does have it in her, but to be clear, she has no problem exploiting people. By the same token, she can still appreciate other people’s pain. She really does. I remember that one scene with Mackenzie when she talks about her dad. That was extraordinary. I had never seen that until I saw it on television, and I thought that’s why Heidi is a likable person; she’s got that in her.
In last week’s episode Brigitte Nielsen, Rodney King, Jessica Sierra and Amber Smith visited the current Rehabbers. Would you say that those are the Top 4 Celebrity Rehab success stories?
No. It wasn’t my decision to bring those exact four back. Nikki McKibbin is an extraordinary story, Mike Starr is doing fantastic right now. Heidi may end up being a success story. Jessica may be the biggest success story because she was so bad. I would definitely put Jessica on that list.
Brigitte is always the one that I think of.
Yeah, maybe. But Brigitte struggles. I consider the success stories as not only the people who are not using, but the people who are really engaged in recovery. Then I know there’s not going to be any more trouble. If they’re not actively involved, then I know they’re going to slip around a bit. They’re going to be OK, but stuff’s going to happen, I’m sure. I haven’t had any contact with Rodney for a while, and that makes me nervous. He drifts away with people and does poorly. He may come right on back, but… Jessica spent a year in treatment, sponsored people, went to meetings everyday. Amber’s probably covered the most territory, I think. She had so many emotions, and so much stuff she had to go through. So, for sure, Amber is good. There are a bunch of success stories. Really about half the people are doing quite well.
And that’s against the odds, right?
That’s amazing. Amazing. Remember, these are people that really weren’t motivated. They just wanted to make money and be on TV.
And yet, the naysayers still say nay.
Yeah, they still want to say it’s an exploitation. You know, I think it just triggers in people their own discomfort in watching difficult material. Therefore, because it’s uncomfortable and triggers their own stuff, they don’t want to watch it. It makes them feel like they shouldn’t watch it. I mean, why do you watch plastic surgery shows, or medical shows? They’ve been on TV forever. It’s the same thing.
And sort of what I’ve gathered through the years is that nothing is ideal. Even in the Times Magazine article, you talk about the compromises you have to make, and the greater good that comes out of it.
Yeah.
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Celebrity Rehab 3 » Watch Video
| Episode | Type | Title | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 309 | Bonus Clips | Videos: Episode 9 Bonus Clips | 3/04/10 |
| 309 | Show Clips | Videos: Graduation Show Clips | 3/04/10 |
| 308 | Bonus Clips | Videos: Episode 8 Bonus Clips | 2/25/10 |
| 308 | Show Clips | Videos: Acting Out Show Clips | 2/25/10 |
| 307 | Show Clips | Videos: Family Weekend Show Clips | 2/18/10 |
| 307 | Bonus Clips | Videos: Episode 7 Bonus Clips | 2/18/10 |
| 306 | Bonus Clips | Videos: Episode 6 Bonus Clips | 2/11/10 |
| 306 | Show Clips | Videos: Triggers Show Clips | 2/11/10 |
| 305 | Bonus Clips | Videos: Episode 5 Bonus Clips | 2/04/10 |
| 305 | Show Clips | Videos: Loss Show Clips | 2/04/10 |
| 304 | Bonus Clips | Videos: Episode 4 Bonus Clips | 1/28/10 |
| 304 | Show Clips | Videos: New Patient Show Clips | 1/28/10 |
| 303 | Show Clips | Videos: Dealing with the Past Show Clips | 1/21/10 |
| 303 | Bonus Clips | Videos: Episode 3 Bonus Clips | 1/21/10 |
| 302 | Bonus Clips | Videos: Episode 2 Bonus Clips | 1/14/10 |
| 302 | Show Clips | Videos: Detox Show Clips | 1/14/10 |
| 301 | Show Clips | Videos: Intake Show Clips | 1/12/10 |
| 301 | Bonus Clips | Videos: Episode 1 Bonus Clips | 1/07/10 |
| 301 | Sneak Peeks | Videos: Preview the New Season of Celebrity Rehab 3! | 12/17/09 |
| -- | Show Clips | Videos: This Thursday Our Celebs Deal With the Past... | 01/20/10 |
| -- | Show Clips | Videos: This Thursday Dr. Drew Welcomes Two New Patients | 01/26/10 |
| -- | Show Clips | Videos: This Thursday on the Finale of Celebrity Rehab 3... | 03/02/10 |
| More Celebrity Rehab 3 Episodes | |||
59 responses to to The Celebreality Interview – A Check-In With Dr. Drew
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Having watched Kari Ann’s behavior on Sex Rehab and the current show, I have to wonder if her bad girl behavior isn’t tolerated for the entertainment value, i.e., the one you love to hate. She really is very, very disturbed. Her level of manipulation and confrontational style are so deep seated, can she ever get well? Does she actually have any real relationships? I hope we have seen the last of her on these rehab shows. I love to watch people who are struggling with their issues and truly making break throughs. It is inspiring and all of us can learn from those who are really trying. This last episode with Kari Ann’s sexually acting out felt very weird to me. Very voyeuristic. Why help promote this pathetic girl’s “bad girl”career. I don’t think it should have been aired. I’m not a prude, I just think Kari Ann has gotten through life by being sexually inappropriate, her early sexual abuse is now part of how she interfaces with the world. Some one needs to censor this girl. By airing her recent behavior, you have contributed to her decline.
Wow…guess I am surprised at how much I like this show, and how invested I’ve become in these people. I want so badly to see them do well for themselves. Living clean is both so damn hard, and so damn worth it. I poured alcohol all over my pain, and not only did it not get better, but alcohol just made it all worse by causing more pain (with some rage and depression thrown in for good measure). Being clean means no more black outs where I invariably did some horribly embarrassing stuff, or hurt someone I love. It means facing life with all it’s pain and glory…straight on, with no filters. It means no more shame, no more hiding, no more lying, no more guilt. It means no more blaming others for my stuff, and no more pretending I don’t need others, and I don’t need help. Dennis…so worried for you. Your denial will kill you, and the world wants you here. Heidi…you break my heart, girl. Your loneliness is heart wretching to see. Equally hard to watch is your fear at opening yourself to caring for other people. It’s something that speaks to me. This may help…remember that there ARE people out there that you can love, and that are trustworthy. When your thinking is clear, you will be able to tell the difference between those people, and the ones who aren’t worth your time. Just keep trying to reach out and don’t give up on humans :-) Mike Starr…if your friend had lived instead of you, would you want him to feel guilty, and try to destroy himself? I don’t think so. You survived, guy, and that is a beautiful blessing. Mac…speaking of survivors! Damn, girl, I can’t believe all you’ve faced, and done, and lived through, and you are still here! Reaching out to others is going to be a huge blessing in your life…keep doing it. Kari Ann…oh, hon, you sooo push my buttons. And I see I’m not the only one. I realize that my reaction to you says more about me than I’d like to admit. I’ve been that manipulative, and hurtful to others. It’s something NONE of us wants to see in ourselves. It looks like when things get too intense, or painful, or too close to the truth, you want to run, get away, change the subject, get mean, be demanding, whatever…anything to not feel that fear of facing truth and pain. Hey, babe, here’s a fact…it won’t kill you. I promise. Drug abuse, sex abuse; now those will, indeed, kill you. Someone once told me that the more a person “acts out”, the more pain they are in. If that’s true, you must be in emotional hell, and no one deserves that. Mindy…so glad to see that you are realizing that you don’t, and never did, deserve the abuse you suffered at the hands of your ex. Leave all that behind you where it belongs. Always remember that you are so worthy of love…the kind that doesn’t hurt. Tom…you are breaking my heart. Somehow, it feels like you are so very desperate, and in such need of this help. Watching you over the years stand toe to toe with your addiction, and fail over and over, is so sad, it’s beyond my words. I can see that you want it, and yet it keeps slipping through your grasp. I believe you are stronger than you realize…I believe that you can grab hold of sobriety with both hands, and hang on for all you are worth. The thing is, you’ve got to believe it, Tom. Dr. Drew, Shelly, Loesha, staff…beautiful work you are doing. Keep fighting the good fight.
I love this show!! My fiance is a recovering alcoholic. He has no problem admitting it because, as he states “he is not proud of it, but he is no longer ashamed.” This show is an inspiration to him through his recovery. He has been clean since May 2007; 2 months shy of 3 years. We watch this show together every Sunday as it helps us bond and talk about his experiences while he was “running around the world for 30 years.” He has so many stories that I do not have the space for on this page. :) So in a nutshell, he has lived in many countries throughout the world and met many people, thus learning many languages throughout his journey and having the ability to adapt to different environments. Although I see him as lucky for his experiences, much of it is a blur to him because he was always high and drunk. When he returned to the states he was homeless for many years. Taking bird baths in McDonalds restrooms and doing anything for alcohol rather than eating food. I am proud to say that he is now an Animal Care Officer. He transports homeless animals to adoptive homes. He says that they have a second opportunity at life, just as he did. He also rescues abused animals, just like he was. He calls them his conglomerates. He knows how they feel and he loves to have the ability to make a difference in their lives. Thanks to the Doe Fund, he has conquered his addiction, has been able to maintain his own apartment, grown a tiny plant into a beautiful full bloomed flower plant, is raising 2 dogs and is happily engaged to me!!! He has been on the local news several times, met the mayor of nyc, Mayor Bloomberg and so much more. His life has changed drastically and all the thanks to his ability to control the monkey on his back, as he calls it. His next goal is to work at a place where he can help drug abusers (that are willing to get help). Is there any advice that you may have for him as far as geting into this type of occupation? I think he would be great and his story would be of so much help to other people that are living through what he has been through and overcome. I know that his story would be motivational and make a difference in someone’s life.
FOR ALL OF TOU, EACH ONE, GOD ITS WITH YOU, AND MINDY IM PRAY FOR YOU IN AVERY SPEACIAL WAY, GIRL FRIEND YOU HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED, A 3 YEAR OLD SON, YOU HAVE FAN, AND YOU HAVE ME, IM AVERY PRAYING PERSON AND MY PRAYS GO FOR TOY, I KNOW YOUR GOING TO MAKE IT BACK, WHEN YOUR DOWN LOOK UP ALORD IS RIGHT THEY WAITING FOR US TO CALL UP ON HIM, GOD ID GOOD I COULD LIFE WITH OUT HIM, IM NOT PUSHING SO BUT YOU ARE HES CHILD HE WILL NEVER LEASE US, IM PRAYING SO HARD FOR YOU YOU CAN MAKE IT YOU CAN MAKE CARE. YOUR SINGING IT THE GREATEST, WRITING YOUR ON SONG ITS ATS SOME SPEACIL GOD HAS GIVE YOU. AND ONLY YOU, PLEASE DO THE WILL, YOUR BE ON THE RIFGR TRACK.I LOVE YOU YOUR MUSIC, SONG WRITE, NYOU GO GIRL, GO, LOVE YOU, YOUR FRIEND IN RICHMOND, KY. I WOULD LOVE TO MEET YOU, I KNOW YOUR BUSY PERSON, IM KNOW ONE BUT A CHILD OF GODS. NI WANT STOP PRAYING FOR. LOVE, MY FRIEND GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR SON,
As for the Celebrity rehab show being exploited I disagree.
It may not reveal all that happens in rehab; and you wont ever know till you have been in rehab!! It is crazy insane!! I have a lot of respect for all the #+_*@++$()_+)(@ istants that are on Celebrity rehab! After viewing Keri Ann I wanted to say “I am not watching this”! But she reminded me of how hateful and bossy I was when I was “coming down”.
Just seeing that and feeling the anger helps me stay away from meth and continue to not worry about how I will remain sober!
Thank you Dr. Drew and your staff!
What a lovely day for a 3395758! SCK was here
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