The Reluctant Whore

Celebrities entering rehab isn’t really a story anymore as much as it is an indication of who is desperate for attention, who is desperate to buy edgy credibility and who is trying to maintain face with the public. Plus, the magic of rehab itself is quite telling when it comes to what America tolerates culturally and why. So, now that Jonathan Rhys Meyers has gone into rehab, the point of rehab itself seems to have shifted.

He’s not really hanging for a career boost in the sense that his roster of work seems chock full – and it’s quality work too – not to mention his principle role on The Tudors, which is being marketed to the bullshit everywhere and honestly isn’t bad at all. Apart from Chris Martin who just seems to reek of a heavily managed God complex. So, his publicist said:

"After a non-stop succession of filming, Jonathan Rhys Meyers has entered an alcohol-treatment program," rep Meredith O'Sullivan says. "He felt a break was needed to maintain his recovery."

Which makes it really sound like he just needed a hard core three weeks of isolated focus on not drinking alcohol – not that he’s crippled with addiction. Kind of like when you have been out for four nights in a row and you start to wonder if you’re an alcoholic but you know, deep down that you’re not so you just consciously stop drinking. Of course, with JRM, it’s all hyped up to movie star level so everything becomes a specific gesture that has to be considered. Indeed, the only addiction he seems to have is to stunningness, slightly unbridled overacting and hammering home that he’s not gay by performatively making out with women in front of other people and mincing about town to squash any idea that he’s got a masculinity issue. Of course, if it were a regular person you’d just replace the word “rehab” with “inner cleansing program with no alcohol”. “Rehab” just grabs headlines easier Plus, let’s be fair, this is really just another excuse to post photos of him. [source]