(AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
Long Island’s prodigal daughter has once again run afoul of the law after being on probation and failing a drug test. Now she may face more jail time, putting more pressure on her embattled family as her once-promising career continues to unravel. Will our favorite actress ever regain her A-List status? What will it take to make a comeback? And how can we blame Long Island for this latest personal and public disaster? Here to discuss are Press writers Jaclyn Gallucci and Kaitlyn Piccoli and News Editor Timothy Bolger.
Kaitlyn
Lindsay Lohan is a year older than me and grew up in the town next to where I grew up. I saw her in The Parent Trap when I was in middle school. During the time she starred in Mean Girls and released her first album, I faced real-life mean girls in high school. She was arrested and did her first few rehab stints while I attended college. And as I sit here, at work, typing at my desk, she’s driving her Porsche around L.A., preparing to appear before Judge Fox to face another jail sentence for violating her probation. Our lives could not be more different. (My avatar above might imply otherwise, but mothballs are over-the-counter.)
Tim
You mean going to Hollywood as a child actor and winding up in rehab is not the typical Long Island experience? Although this may not be the most popular opinion and everyone wants to Lindsay-bash these days, I feel for her. It must suck to be a confused young adult with the whole world watching your every (alleged) relapse while you’re trying to battle a drug problem that turned a promising career into a punch line. I’m as guilty as the next news junkie in loving to watch a good train wreck, but don’t kick a girl while she’s down.
Kaitlyn
For the record, Tim, I wasn’t kicking Lindsay at all. It’s just strange for me to imagine us being the same age and coming from Long Island. I think now more than ever it’s apparent she has a serious problem, no doubt a byproduct of her young fame. I’ve read that the director of the Linda Lovelace biopic—which Lindsay was set to star in before her drug problems derailed the project—still wants Lindsay involved if she’s willing to work a sobriety clause into her contract. If anything, it’s a small sign of hope that Hollywood does want to give her a second (third, fourth) chance and help her recover.
Jaclyn
At her peak, Lindsay was just another generic teen with average talent being pushed by an overbearing stage mother, attempting to do everything…sing, dance, model, blah blah blah…oh, and sell tanning lotion, her original drug of choice. She’s not a fantastic actress or a fantastic singer, so she really doesn’t have much to fall back on in Hollywood, unless she wants to ride the teen-movie circuit a little longer. At this point she should just divorce her crazy family, lose the horrible tan and go to college. Or focus on her acting and try to be taken as a serious artist (which I don’t think she is). So, what’s left? Porn. Playboy. Country music. American Idol judge. Celebrity rehab and, if she decides to come back to Long Island, Naughty School Girl Night at The Crazy Donkey.
Tim
Damn, Jaclyn. You should be the new American Idol judge to replace Simon. And I wasn’t accusing you, Kait, I just think people generally see celebs as punching bags instead of people capable of making the same mistakes as non-celebs, regardless of prior successes. Yes, such mistakes in Hollywood are cliché and we have to hope for Lindsay’s sake (not to mention our reputation as the island that produced her) she pulls it off, like Drew Barrymore or Robert Downey Jr., in the long run. But in the short term she can only hope the judge is sympathetic to the fact that relapses are a part of the rehab process. Then, if and when her life settles and she gets back in the game, we can carry on with the business of ripping apart her work. Or lack thereof.
Jaclyn
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People may boo Simon’s opinion but everyone knows he speaks the brutal truth. I’m not trying to be mean here, just honest. The odds aren’t in her favor.
Kaitlyn
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Unfortunately, Jaclyn, I agree with you. It’s tough to imagine a smooth road to recovery for Lindsay. If she stays in L.A., there’s a lot of temptation and excess. If she comes back home to Long Island, she has her sideshow circus of a family to deal with.
Tim
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Good points all around. But even if she’s a mess, she’s still our mess. It’s our duty as Long Islanders to root for her comeback.
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