Tatum O’Neal Arrest Proves Overcoming Addiction Is Never Easy
Tatum O’Neal, an Oscar-winning actress and daughter of famous actor Ryan O’Neal was arrested on Sunday after police caught her buying cocaine on a NY city street corner. O’Neal in her adult life, has become as famous for her substance abuse problems as she has for her stellar acting skills, and sadly, this past weekend’s arrest shows the difficulty of overcoming addiction.
Back in the 90’s after her divorce to tennis star John McEnroe, Tatum’s drug problems became a public issue when McEnroe filed for custody of their three children when he discovered she was addicted to heroin and NOT taking appropriate care of their children. Tatum worked hard to recover from her addiction, and went on to write a book about her life, chronicling her abusive relationship with her father, being sexually abused by a family friend and growing up in the limelight.
Addiction seems to be a family curse, as Tatum’s mother Joanna Moore also battled drug and alcohol abuse and her half-brother Redmond (mother Farrah Fawcett) has made news for having debilitating substance abuse problem (check Glosslip’s coverage of that story here.)
Tatum in recent years has had an upsurge in her acting career, with a regular spot on the Dennis Leary show Rescue Me, and then appearing on the popular ABC’s reality show, Dancing With The Stars. Tatum could have easily had a lucrative and successful film career after her teen years (she won an Oscar for her role in Paper Moon, opposite her father, and was tremendous in Little Darlings) but instead took time off during her marriage to McEnroe, and then sadly, got back into drugs.
This recent arrest, which she claims “saved her life” came on the heels of a difficult time for her having lost her beloved pet. Here Tatum explains:
“There is no excuse for what I did, I lost my Scottish terrier Lena … that sort of set me off.”
Under normal circumstances, I would go into one of our usual tirades, condemning Tatum for a selfish and destructive act (she has children to think about) but knowing her family history and that she’s a recovering addict of many years does make her situation more sympathetic. She also gets credit for eventually coming to terms and admitting she had “no excuse,” but not before pulling out her ‘celeb get out of jail free card’ asking arresting officers “Do you know who I am” and then tried the whole “I was researching a role” excuse. Fortunately, the popo weren’t buying it.
Nowadays, it doesn’t matter WHO you are, in fact, it’s often a disadvantage to be a celeb and get caught doing something stupid. My advice, avoid doing stupid things. Tatum, you can afford counseling, please get help before you really hurt yourself.
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If anyone knows her history with her father, that pretty much explains it all. During both of their heydays in the 70’s when she was 10, 12 14, years old he brought her around to all the hollywood parties basically as his date- this went on for years. It was always in the tabloids.
And unless you’ve read her book you might not know that daddy dear had her sleep with him in bed everynight. Hmmm, nothing wrong with that, just as Michael Jackson. Gee, I wonder who that family “friend” sexual abuser was?
Oh, not to mention that daddy dear is the one who thought it was an ok idea to get her first addiciton going at 9 years old (or how ever old she was in Paper Moon).
Besides all that, he father was a piece of shit and her mother was in shambles. Her and her brother had to take care of themselves like orphans. Goes on and on…..
Comment by gooby — June 4, 2008 @ 3:23 pm
This is the girl who was the youngest person to ever to win an Acadamy Award (age 9 or 10). Ryan O’Neal has never even won one. If fact, he didn’t even bother to go to the oscar ceramony that night to be with his daughter. I think Tatum is a great actress and although a lot of the hardships (which never really go away) have probably hampered what could have been an oscar winning career (Hillary S with 2 - oh god please!). That time is over for her - wasted and gone. But I believe if she can get all of her pain and put it into her acting she would have an unbelievable comeback. She is a great great actress and has already suffered for her art. GO TATUM! JUST A BUMP IN THE ROAD…NOT A BLACK HOLE!
Comment by marnie88 — June 4, 2008 @ 3:36 pm
I remember Tatum as a young actress, and I’m sorry to see her life take this detour. However, I’m glad to see that she seems to be taking responsibility and trying to do something about the demons in her life. I wish her all good things.
Comment by k — June 4, 2008 @ 10:28 pm
I love Tatum and support Tatum and others who keep working it through the humiliation that comes with a vicious media and a public eager for bad news.
Best to you Sweetz, and thanks Gloss for the thoughtful words. After a while, it’s just no fun to see the great ones go down.
Hold your head up Tatum. You’re beautiful.
Comment by LaNon — June 5, 2008 @ 3:17 am
“Life is what you make of it. Always has been. Always will be.”
-Grandma Moses
Good luck to you Tatum. You can do this.
Comment by toldya — June 5, 2008 @ 3:25 am
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Pingback by Celebrity Blog | Babelogs | Celebrity Gossip » Blog Archive » Tatum O’Neal Arrest Proves Overcoming Addiction Is Never Easy — June 6, 2008 @ 3:35 am
Malibu is the place for celebrity rehab Tatum!
http://www.summitmalibu.com
Comment by mgh — June 7, 2008 @ 10:02 am