Lindsay Lohan's personal and professional life has slowly unravelled over the last few years in one of the most dramatic slow motion 'life' car crashes of all time resulting in her being the subject of tabloid scrutiny and public derision.
It doesn't seem to be a coincidence but rather a frightening manifestation of her problems that as her life skids further and further out of control so too have the number of car crashes the actress has been involved in (and largely responsible for).
Having represented a host of celebrities over the years I know all too well that even for the most sensible and grounded celebrity, being in the public eye results in inevitably being dragged into legal proceedings of some description. It goes with the territory. But for celebrities such as Lindsay whose continued media profile becomes less about the talent that catapulted them into the glare of the spotlight and more about their seedy debauched demise, there is a distinct correlation between their personal lives spiralling out of control and their legal woes snowballing.
So far Lindsay has been sent to jail six times by four judges for a total of 120 days, however has served less than two weeks. Her felony probation has ended after five years although she remains on informal probation. She has also spent 250 days in five different rehab centres in the last five years.
In the latest twist and turn, after months of refusing to plea bargain, she accepted a plea deal for her misdemeanour car-wreck case that won't put her in jail but will mean she spends 90 days in residential rehab. She also received a five day jail sentence for reckless driving but this will be folded into her rehab sentence.
Sources close to her have claimed that she delayed rehab until mid-May so she could attend Coachella - the popular music festival where a lot of people partake in exactly the kind of activities Miss Lohan should probably be avoiding and where there will be paparazzi galore snapping pictures of celebrities attending. Hardly ideal pre-rehab behaviour but since entering into the plea deal resulting in the rehab 'sentence' Lindsay appears to be partying it up to the maximum, including making the most of 'paid appearances' and other 'commercial jobs' to enjoy doing the very thing she needs to curb.
According to the latest reports she has apparently made a plea to the courts that she is allowed to continue use of the prescription drug Adderall during her stint in rehab. Apparently this is for her ADHD but Adderall is well known to be abused as a recreational drug by many and addictions to prescription drugs are equally as damaging as other vices. Perhaps she views her current antics and Coachella as one big extended blow out before rehab and can't be without some form of crutch whilst in rehab, hence the Adderall request. Either way she does not appear to be taking rehab that seriously.
Every step of Lindsay's debauched fall from Disney grace has been publicly documented and critiqued and her tabloid profile has increased in inverse proportion to her floundering career. But she isn't an innocent victim of unscrupulous media attention. To a degree she is tabloid fodder at her own behest. She isn't someone privately drinking herself into oblivion or battling her demons indoors. She parties very publicly and seems to embrace the attention that comes with the drama. She doesn't need to be at the latest Hollywood hot spots which are hardly the prescription for someone who clearly has sobriety issues and where paparazzi hang at every corner, waiting to snap the lucrative picture that will line their pockets and keep the fading star in the public eye, but for the wrong reasons.
In fairness Lindsay didn't exactly have the best foundation for a healthy, happy life in the manic world of fame. Her childhood and parents are far from ideal. The fact that her parents' antics increasingly fill the tabloids speaks volumes. But she isn't the only star to have had a rocky start in life or difficult circumstances to overcome. But it seems that for Lindsay this has translated into a default position that life is meant to be messy, troublesome and full of chaotic drama and this has become a self- fulfilling prophecy. Yes the drugs and alcohol wreak havoc in her life and are addictions that need to be tackled - but they are merely the side effects of the root cause - which appears to be an addiction to chaos and self-destruction.
Her troubles have been in her twenties and many people experience a lot of turmoil and growth at this age - fellow child star Amanda Bynes being a troubling example of someone whose life and mental health is also unraveling very publicly - but many come out the other end a better, stronger person - Britney Spears being an example of someone who is no doubt a work in progress but appears to have come back from the brink. But Lindsay is approaching that fateful age where many stars have ended up in the tragic 27 club - a moniker given to those (most of whom were musicians) whose talents and lives were abruptly cut short as a result of their excesses.
If all goes to plan, Lindsay will be in rehab for her 27th birthday (2 July 2013). In order for her to forge ahead on the path to true recovery I hope that it is not just the addictions themselves that are addressed but also the root causes of the addictions - the limiting beliefs and deep stemmed issues that seem to make the fallen star an addict to drama and chaos. If her 27th year starts not only with sobriety, but with a deeper self- awareness and a willingness to change and continues in that vein then it may be a pleasant surprise to be reading about her recovery and revival as an actress.
But if Lindsay keep saying 'no, no, no' to truly committing to rehab then I fear that as with Amy Winehouse whose hit song Rehab has become such a poignant part of her legacy, we may one day instead be reading about the 'crash' that tips Lindsay's life over the edge.