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February 13th, 2012
11:33 PM ET

'She drank champagne': Dr. Drew outraged

Fans around the world remain in shock over the sudden loss of pop icon Whitney Houston, who died at a Beverly Hills hotel Saturday night at age 48.

Whitney infamously battled addiction, admitting to using cocaine, marijuana and pills in several interviews.

Two days before her death, Whitney was spotted leaving a Hollywood club in sweat. She had given the last performance of her life that night singing "Yes Jesus Loves Me" with R&B singer Kelly Price.

“Whitney partied,” Price said in an interview. “She drank champagne. She sang and gave a performance that was unscheduled. I never expected her to take the stage.”

On Monday night, Dr. Drew expressed his outrage.

“When I saw that interview - it got me very, very worked up. The way people are recovering poor Whitney`s demise, I think, is superficial - inaccurate ... here you have people around her, saying that ‘she`s great’ - and 'she`s toasting champagne'. This is a woman with chronic multiple treatments for addiction. She was just treated last May at an outpatient program. The goal is abstinence - complete sobriety.”

He added, “A person with that kind of history of addiction who is holding a glass of champagne is literally drinking on their grave ... So for no one to recognize that around her? I`m outraged by it, and I`m saddened by it.”

Dr. Drew then questioned why his peers in the medical profession would give Whitney, someone with a chronic-known addiction, prescription drugs. Do most doctors really understand that these pills can lead to addiction? Watch the discussion in the video clip above.

Watch Dr. Drew weeknights at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on HLN and follow the show on Twitter @DrDrewHLN.


Filed under: Celebrity • Death
February 13th, 2012
01:09 PM ET

Commentary on Whitney Houston

By Dr. Drew Pinsky

The sudden death of legendary pop star Whitney Houston at age 48 has shocked all of us. The world has truly lost one of its greatest singers.

But as we all know, her enormous talent has been overshadowed in recent years by her battles with drug addiction.

We obviously would be speaking out of school if we jumped to any conclusions regarding her death at this point. We're at the stage right now where we all should be celebrating her life.

However, it may end up that substance abuse had something to do with how her life ended. For me, it's a reminder that addiction is a fatal condition that has taken so many of our wonderful performers, and my deepest fear is that my peers who are involved with this matter will say she had some kind of pill on hand, which may turn the story to be something that we've been hearing about all too often these days.

Whitney was pronounced dead at the Beverly Hilton Hotel shortly after paramedics had arrived. When I heard the timeline, it struck me that this is something that must have been fruitless from the start.

Usually, somebody will be transported and the death will be pronounced at the hospital. But for paramedics to arrive and call it so soon suggests that when she was found she had been gone for quite some time.

I talked to medical professionals on Saturday, and they say that Whitney apparently had some good sobriety going - and she was quite serious about it. Now the other piece of this is that, apparently, she was in an outpatient program in May of last year ... that really caught my ear.

Someone who has chronic problems with substances, and has relapsed should not be in an outpatient program. This is somebody who struggled a long time - someone who needed to take six months, 12 months, or sometimes, like Robert Downey Jr., 24 months, out of their career and just focus on that.

So the fact that Whitney was in an outpatient program probably means that she did not partake in treatment that was intense enough for her.

And earlier this year, she was already back making a film. That’s a terrible sign for somebody like Whitney. My fear is that's really what contributed to what we're dealing with now.

Whenever we hear commentators talk about the stress of Hollywood, I want to point out that it's not any more stressful than being a construction worker, dentist, etc. There are much more stressful careers out there - believe me. But having treated many celebrities, the thing that really seems to be, in fact, stressful for them, is the threat of losing their status and losing their career.

I’m going to talk a lot more about that aspect on Monday night’s show - the pressure of the celebrity culture and those who enable the stars.

All in all, Whitney is somebody whose artistry has been with us for most of our lives. Every time we turn on the TV, we see images and videos of her, and the vibrancy of her youth - somebody who had such joy in her work. The fact that she had substance abuse problems later in her life should not cast a shadow over her great contribution to each of our lives.

Watch Dr. Drew weeknights at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on HLN and follow the show on Twitter @DrDrewHLN.


Filed under: Celebrity • Death
February 13th, 2012
12:07 PM ET

Tonight: Whitney Houston's death, another Michael Jackson?

Dr. Drew's take on Whitney Houston's life...and death. We don't know what killed her. But we know that she had addiction problems throughout her life. What role did they play in her demise? Who tried to step in and stop it? Were doctors who prescribed medication in any way culpable? Did the pitfalls of fame and fortune contribute?

Dr. Drew will bring his decades of experience as a physician and addictionologist to the discussion.

Watch Dr. Drew tonight and every weeknight at 9 on HLN.


Filed under: Celebrity • Drugs