File this one under “DUH!” Dr. Drew Pinsky, star of such exploitation-style reality shows as “Celebrity Rehab” and “Sober House,” has written a new book titled “The Mirror Effect: How Celebrity Narcissism is Seducing America.” He claims his research shows that celebrities become famous to feed their narcissism, not the other way around. His research team gave hundreds of celebrities and non-famous people the same narcissism test and found that celebs scored significantly higher.
Celebrities’ bad behavior is rooted in mental illness, according to “Dr. Drew” Pinsky, who is best known as the host of Celebrity Rehab and Loveline — a nationally syndicated radio show that invites listeners to call in with questions about sex and drugs.
In his latest book, The Mirror Effect (on bookstore shelves Tuesday), he spells out a theory that stars are predisposed to narcissistic personality disorder long before they become famous. Their dysfunctional behavior is rewarded by Hollywood and portrayed as normal by the press.
“As reporting on celebrity behavior becomes even more ruthless and mean-spirited, I am struck by this disconnect between how a celebrity’s behavior is portrayed in the media, and the very real problems that underlie their actions,” wrote Pinsky.
He argues that the media fails to acknowledge that celebrities are mentally ill when holding them up as role models, so everyday people have begun to emulate their unhealthy behavior.
In 2006, Pinsky and his co-author Mark Young published the first systematic study of celebrity psychology in the Journal of Research in Personality. The new book explains that research and how it fits into the larger context of our culture, which they argue has been soiled by shameless producers, agents and paparazzi.
The first three chapters read like a history textbook, recapping famous celebrity mishaps and an era when those unfortunate episodes were carefully hidden from the public. It gives readers a glimpse of just how conservative Pinsky really is. He seems to prefer the good old days when movie studios were able to keep Rock Hudson in the closet.The celebrity doctor is not a fan of MySpace or Facebook either, because they allow people to seek attention by acting out like celebrities — posting provocative pictures and personal stories about irresponsible behavior.
“Without appropriate monitoring, these social networking platforms are subject to abuse by those who are most vulnerable to the endless feedback loop they create,” wrote Pinsky. “This is known as an urge/compulsion/reinforcement cycle, and it’s very similar to what happens to those who crave drugs or other addictive substances.”
Well, if celebs are clinically defined as narcissists, doesn’t Dr. Drew himself fall into that category?I’d be curious to see how he scored on this test. I really do question his abilities. If he’s so great at his job, why are all these people on his reality shows always relapsing? I can’t think of a single celeb he’s tried to “help” who has been able to stay sober. He seems far more interested in creating good drama for TV than actually helping any of these people. Maybe he should take his own advice. It’s interesting that he believes that most celebs become famous because of a deficiency in their personality, but I think with most of them, that’s pretty obvious. Nothing to write a book over.
Dr. Drew attends Elton John’s Oscar Party in Feb. 2008. Photo credits:WENN.
