A prominent person's career may end if caught using illegal substances. While some famous people can move on with their lives (and are even given several opportunities), others find themselves pushed to the sidelines. While sportsmen may often point the finger at great pressure to perform as the cause of their poor decisions, actors and musicians must come up with a more credible explanation.
Nonetheless, substance abuse is a significant public health concern. When celebrities are on the verge of being sentenced to jail for their actions, it may be difficult for them to provide a satisfactory justification. In some circumstances, the public relations staff needs to think creatively beyond the norm.
1. Tatum O'Neal
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While Tatum O'Neal had struggled with substance abuse at a young age, she had been clean and sober for some time. In June 2008, however, she was arrested by law enforcement while attempting to buy crack. She allegedly asked the cop whether he recognized her before explaining that the transaction was part of her acting studies. O'Neal thanked the cops for sparing her life in court and said that the death of her 16-year-old dog had set her off.
Following her guilty plea, she was sentenced to two partial days of therapy for disorderly behavior.
2. Lindsay Lohan
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In July 2007, Lindsay Lohan was taken into custody after police received a report of an argument between the two women. When Lohan confronted the woman in the Santa Monica Civic Center parking lot, she had been tailing her in her automobile. Lohan was arrested for driving under the influence. The police searched Lohan, and they discovered illegal narcotics in her pocket. She insisted the clothes were not hers and did not belong to her.
3. Paris Hilton
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In August 2010, police pulled over Paris Hilton and her then-boyfriend Cy Waits because they allegedly smelt marijuana from the car. Waits were taken into custody after failing a field sobriety test. While Hilton rummaged in her handbag for some lip balm, she dropped a bag of illegal narcotics. She informed the authorities that she had borrowed the handbag and mistook the bag of cocaine for gum.
4. Jimi Hendrix
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In May of 1969, Canadian customs officials seized a container containing six packets of what seemed to be a restricted drug from Jimi Hendrix as he passed through customs at Toronto International Airport. The famous musician and guitarist ended up getting arrested. According to Hendrix's legal team, the Canadian police put the bottle on the musician's person to frame him for a crime. Ultimately, the jury acquitted Hendrix of all counts in December of 1969.
5. Charlie Sheen
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The hard-partying Charlie Sheen was discovered in the charred remains of his New York City hotel room in October 2010. When the cops came, the room's furnishings were in disarray, and the chandelier had been broken. Many news agencies stated that when police detained Sheen, he acknowledged snorting something, notwithstanding his explanation that his conduct was due to an adverse reaction to prescribed medicine.
6. Sylvester Stallone
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The actor Sylvester Stallone was detained in Australia in May 2007 for allegedly having 50 dosages of human growth hormone on his person. The actor then claimed that he was administered Jintropin for an unidentified ailment and "simply didn't grasp" the regulations of the nation he was visiting. Hormone deficiencies and youngsters with development problems are common indications for its use.
7. George Michael
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George Michael was saw by witnesses in February 2006, lying down in his car. The police determined that he was not intoxicated but owned marijuana, an anti-sleep medicine generally used to treat narcolepsy. He told authorities he was "a bad driver" after crashing into three parked cars in April of that year.