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R.I.P. Mindy McCready
Watercooler
Monday, February 18, 2013
4:46 am
42 Comments
Tagged: celebrity rehab, country music, dead, dr. drew, Mindy McCready, suicide
Posted in:
Watercooler
Country singer Mindy McCready allegedly committed suicide yesterday. The Arkansas’ Cleburne County Sheriff’s released this official statement:
“At 3:31 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 17, deputies from the Cleburne County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to a report of gun shots fired,” the statement began. Officers arrived on the scene at 3:58 p.m. and discovered the body of 37-year-old Melinda Gayle McCready on the front porch of the residence…Ms. McCready was pronounced dead at the scene from what appears to be a single self-inflicted gunshot wound. At this time family members have been notified of the incident. Ms. Mcready will be transported to the Arkansas State Crime Lab for an autopsy and the matter will be fully investigated.”
UGH. This news is terrible. She leaves behind two boys–the younger of the two was the son of her boyfriend that shot himself last month.
As we all know she had struggled with addiction and mental illness…I’m sad that it had to come to this. Some reports are saying that she shot herself and her dog. Our TVgasm facebook wrote, “McCready is the 5th former cast member from “CELEBRITY REHAB WITH DR. DREW” Other cast-mates now deceased are Joey Kovar (29 -mix of drugs & alcohol), Rodney King (47 -drowned in his pool), Jeff Conaway (60 -pneumonia) and Mike Starr (44 -drug overdose).”
So sad. R.I.P. Mindy
TV Social
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42 Comments
It’s very sad and I feel for her family. Another of Dr. Drew’s success stories.
I wonder of her kids will go to her mother or wind up in foster care.
I hope the best for those children, and if there is any money left from her career that they are well cared for responsibly now.
Why did she have to shoot her dog too?
Not sure you can blame it on Dr. Drew. I do wonder how many people are able to fight addiction and win versus the ones that don’t. Because as much intervention as I watch I am many times disappointed at the end with the results.
So sad for the children involved.
Bitch shot her dog? No sympathy. NONE.
I don’t know if she shot her dog for sure. I just read it on that Huff Post article.
I agree, Classy. Mindy had attempted suicide twice before. And had checked herself out of another treatment facility two days before killing herself. Plus, if you watched Celebrity Rehab you saw how her addiction had caused a neurological disorder that led to seizures. Not sure Dr. Drew is the blame for this one and not the rehab she just checked out of. Plus, she had gotten backlash from her fiance’s family..they were saying she killed him. And, she had lost custody of her kids. Again.
This is super sad…..When she first came out as a singer in the 90′s she was so young, beautiful, with a beautiful voice. Sad to see it ended like this, honestly when I heard about her fiancee I just had a bad feeling she’d do the same.
I don’t think Dr Drew is to blame for this……hell, nobody is to blame as long as all possible medical and psychiatric needs were offered to the utmost degree.
plockness monster…McCready shooting her dog reminds me of the speech by Babe in Beth Henley’s Crimes of the Heart. Babe is about to commit suicide like her mother, andhas an epiphany about why Mom had also killed the cat.
sad story all around.
Thank god her children weren’t present, or she might well have shot them, too. (Shooting the poor dog is absolutely horrible, too!! I can’t imagine.)
I feel awful for her family, and wish them the best. They’ll have a lot to deal with for the rest of their lives.
My uncle committed suicide when I was in high school. I blame Dr. Drew.
She had so many years of addiction and pain that I would be more shocked if Celebrity Rehab had prevented this outcome. And I agree about the dog. Who knows what goes thru someone’s mind when they are in such hopeless pain. I guess we can be thankful that her kids weren’t with her or else they would have ended up like the dog.
I do not blame Dr. Drew, or the ridiculous show he spotlights these poor souls in – but you can’t deny that they profit from and exploit vulnerable people who are desperate for a chance to become a celebrity again. Her killing herself was her own irrational choice and something many, many addicts do because of the way that sickness preys on the mind. Killing the dog to her was probably viewed in some way as merciful or a way for her to not go out alone. At any rate, such a sad end to a tragic story.
Poor Gal. Poor kids. About the Dr. Drew thing. I cannot stand him. I have heard him spout off shit as if he knows what it is like to have a substance addiction. “The brain feels like this”, etc. Fuck off Drew, you have no clew.
His rehab record stinks and alot of them died because ..They “hired” the worst of the worst. It made for better TV. Thse folks were truly sick and Drew figured that if he could fix them he would be gold. Cuz lord knows there isnt any money in fixing pot smokers!~
TC, Robin
You can’t “fix” an addict. They have to be serious about recovery. Rehab is only the first step..if they discontinue treatment then you can’t blame the rehab for a relapse! She had JUST left rehab last week. By your own logic wouldn’t that rehab be more to blame than Celeb Rehab for not “fixing” her? Or any of the rehabs that she went to before??
I heard a sound bite from a very recent interview where Dr. Drew was asked about Mindy killing herself. He said she wasn’t the first from his show to commit suicide and she certainly wouldn’t be the last. I have never watched Celeb Rehab. All I know about the dr. is what I saw of him on that show “Loveline,” but I thought it seemed pretty mean. In the words of Dave Chappelle as Rick James, “That was colllllld blooded!”
Roger Clemens ‘dated’ her when she was fifteen and it went on for ten years. Being molested and the power difference between the two had to impact her life negatively. Sad.
@coop, didn’t know about the Clemmons thing. Ick.
But much as I don’t care about or for Dr D, he really gets the worst cases, and she had more strikes against her than usual in that case. His clients are more screwed up in the first place because they can’t handle either celebrity or drugs. Also a failed suicide will likely try again.
So tragic
@ snowshoecat, agreed!
Cosign @snowshow & @sarcas.
And for the record there are a certain few of us who have gone round and round for a good long time about addiction on this site. We’re not gonna see eye to eye on this people. We’ve been here before.
We also all have a right to our opinions so I’m going to state mine.
You cannot, CANNOT help an addict that does not want help. NO. Matter. What.
Kudos to anyone who has ever tried to help, in any capacity, as it’s better than what a full blown addict is doing for themselves. (ratings driven or anonymous). Are addicts selfish? Yes, that’s part of the disease. If she shot her dog that was a serious selfish move but one that we’ll never understand the reasons why. I am not condoning it or excusing it just addressing it.
Bottom line is, we are all here, alive. What it takes for someone to actually kill themselves is next level. Knowing full well the horror, shame and pain it will cause their loved ones can’t even stop the urge they feel to end their lives. That has to be a serious amount of anguish someone goes through to know all of that and still pull the trigger.
It’s not right socially, morally, etc. but, McReady was in so much pain she stopped it the only way she knew how. That’s some heavy shit if you ask me.
And, not Dr. Drew’s fault.
Did she date Dean Cain as well?
@considerthis…yep… she dated Superman.
Well, once you date Superman, everything after is a let down.
Gypsy, I cosign everything you and @SSC said.
I know damn well you can’t fix an addict! Geesh! Drew knows this too. But that doesn’t stop him from pretending that he can on tv. To the detriment of others.
Anyone who is serious about recovery will take the program seriously, cameras there or not. That’s the point you seem to be missing. They will also continue to work towards sobriety AFTER Dr. Drew’s program ends. Join another rehab, sober living house, etc. Anyone who thinks Dr Drew can cure decades long addictions in 21 days and blame him for not doing so is stunningly misinformed.
Oh for Christ sakes, I am not missing any point.
It is DREW that tries to convince people/networks that he can do alot in 21 days, with camera’s literally in their face. Anyone who thinks that recovery is a spectator sport is stunningly misinformed.
Many times I have seen a breakdown caused by a camera. One step forward and two steps back.
He offered a service..a VOLUNTARY service. To you, that means:
He MADE people sign up for his show.
He pushed Rodney King in the pool.
He gave Joey Kovar and Mike (alice in chains) a lethal dose of drugs.
He put the gun in Mindy’s hand.
He let Jeff Conaway’s ravaged body die of pneumonia.
All by offering a voluntary service for them to sign up for and get free treatment. Yep, totally his fault. No accountability goes to anyone else. Nope. Not at all. You’ve found your perfect scapegoat, logic and reasoning be damned.
Mindy’s other two suicide attempts don’t count because they happened BEFORE she met Dr. Drew. But the last one, totally his fault.
My main problem with Dr. Drew is that he exploits these people and their disease. The emphasis is on making good tv, not on helping these people.
Clearly, many of them don’t want to be in rehab.
If you have to offer them money to get them to come in the first place, obviously, they aren’t really interested in their sobriety.
Why not then find normal people who want to go to rehab and make the show about them? That would actually be doing somebody a service.
Because Dr. Drew knows that celebrity names will make the show more popular and give him more money. And perchance his patient actually improve, he can crow about how he helped free (celebrity name here) from the shackles of addiction.
The man is a narcissistic dick. Maybe he didn’t kill these people, but he sure as hell ain’t help them.
@chaosbutterfly I understand what you are saying but fame whoring works both ways.
These people get to be in front of cameras and become relevant again even if for a fleeting moment. Dr. Drew gets to show his chops as a therapist. I doubt either party was forced into it.
I see no difference in Dr. Drew than I do Hoarders or Intervention or I didn’t know I was pregnant or I eat the couch or whatever that weird addiction show is.
For those of you who think your journey to sobriety has a hard stop after 21 days is misinformed, in denial or has never truly been near a loved one or an addict yourself who needs serious help. Sobriety is a life long commitment and one not to be taken lightly.
The rehab process is just that, a start to a process which has many steps. And, not just the 12 you all hear about.
I cannot agree that Dr. Drew caused this. Dr. Drew did not turn these people who were in fact suffering LONG before he got to them do these things to themselves. Was he in the room when Mike Starr walked out before Layne OD’d in Seattle causing Mike a lifetime if regret? If he was, I would like to think he would have intervened and we might still have Layne among the living today.
They all have a long and sorted past with their vice of choice, no? So, how is it that he can be held responsible for their death?
Re: @Sarcastaire comment #27
Everyone here is playing with fire, that should be a given but, he didn’t pull the trigger, drown, OD or give pneumonia to any of them.
By that logic is he SOLELY responsible for Jennifer Jimenez’s sobriety? Or, that of any other of the successful people at the Pasadena Recovery center? I am sure they would gladly tell you he helped but that they themselves HAD TO DO THE WORK. Them and them alone.
I never said that Drew was directly responsible for any of his former patients deaths. I just truly question whether he has their best interest’s.
They volunteered!? They are sick! They have no idea what the best treatment plan is for them anymore than a cancer patient knows what is best. You are wrong where it concerns accountability.
I am still of the opinion that recovery is not a spectator sport and I think it is a terrible idea to put such a personal process on film. This is supposed to be a private struggle. And the fact that Drew disregards this basic need for a show is disgusting to me.
I am done.
An addict will do as an addict wants. Find me the credible evidence where any one of those people were forced onto that show. I will recant and apologize.
Have you observed addicts? They’ve perfected the skill of acting with out any training, They are better liars than a Russian spy, they can sell ice to an Eskimo, sell fire in hell…
I shit you not addicts are professionals at getting what they want. Even if they ‘ have’ to jump through a few (relatively speaking-hell they aren’t prostituting like Amber admitted to previous to her stints on the show) hoops to get the money & spin dry so they can get back out on the street to buy whatever their fix is at a cheaper price… it’s proven fact. Do some research, go to an open AA/NA meeting. Ask recovering addicts. The ones with a year plus under their belt. They will all tell you the same. They will. I. promise.
Check yourself out at comment #14. Sure looks like you’re saying he can fix ‘em and make a ton of money.
But, you’re done so…I’m going to get back to reading Glanville’s trashtastic book since, you’re done.
Agreed, Gypsy.
These celebs came onto the show for a stab at relevance and to show themselves beyond tabloid fodder in hopes of garnering sympathy regarding their fall from grace.
Their careers are in the dumps, the celebs are z-list at best, I doubt any significant amount of money was thrown at them. Gypsy brings up a good point about Intervention, Hoarders, and basically any other help/therapy based reality show. If one is exploitation, then they all are! You can’t pick and choose based on the celeb status of the patients or the therapist. Or do you only care about celebrities being so-called exploited? Hmmm..
Yeah, I will start an AlaTeen meeting just like the one I went to every week when I was a kid. If you want to research, I posted about this a couple yrs ago.
Since \fix\ seems to be the word of the day, I was trying to point out that Drew needed to \fix\ the worst of the worse, because pot smokers wouldn’t look good on his resume.
The fact of the matter is this. HE IS THE DOCTOR. Just because they want to be on CR doesn’t mean it is the best thing for them! Y’all seem to think that because they volunteered for this and signed on the dotted line means it is on them. Again, They are sick!
Try walking into a Doc office and telling him how to treat you at your detriment?
Having your most private feelings caught on tape cannot help with recovery once they left Pfft either. You know they saw this stuff. I cannot imagine this was helpful and Drew allowed it.
Oh so you’re not done? I thought so.
How is being addicted to love, literally more interested than a pot head? Have you seen Mall Rats or Chasing Amy? HALF BAKED EVEN???
And now you are missing my point. At any point did I say they weren’t/aren’t sick? No. He is A doctor yes, but is he THE doctor? I’ll argue that. If I recall he is part of a staff in which he is one of the lead doctors yes, but not the only doctor he had a staff.. Failor Armstrong’s shrink was also a DOCTOR on that show so you know it’s legit.
Robin/Robinez, whoever you’re multiple personality cray cray ass is, you aren’t making any sense.
Are you foolish enough to think that these addicts aren’t aware (on some level) that they are being filmed and this will air on TV??? Isn’t that part of the allure (along with the cash) that I cited earlier in this thread? Addicts agreed, Drew agreed, both parties lawyers, agents, PR people, etc., agreed in what I would assume is a legal & binding contract. If not, surely Dr. Drew would be rocked with out of court settlements or taken to actual court for the show. What part of that aren’t you connecting the dots on? Can you clarify?
Also what behaviors did you watch Dr. Drew make the patients perform that were to the detriment of their health on the show? Really, I’d like to hear what you have to say because I don’t see how attending group, facing fears, staying sober, trying to get clean and stay on a steady routine and talk therapy are abusive. I might go so far as to blame the creators of these types of shows over the professionals and addicts for even dreaming this type of thing up for the world to see but, they all went along with it. So whaddayagonnado?
Private feelings on a reality show? You have lost your damn mind. Privacy on a reality show is a complete oxymoron.
Bless your heart.
A woman can’t be held accountable for signing up for a reality show yet until her fiancee’s suicide last month, she was deemed responsible enough to raise her two children. Hmmm.. And someone with cancer can’t make decisions regarding the care they receive?? your logic astounds me.
Robin, I am just going to mention something to you and I hope it doesn’t come across sounding rude because that is not my intentions. Most addicts will not go to rehab on their own accord. Most of the time they need to be almost need to be “tricked” to make that first step into recovery. For example, if you have ever watched Intervention you see the family say that the addict will not longer be able to live at home or get rides to the grocery store or in some cases the family will shut down all communication unless the addict receives help. Interventions work differently depending on the individual. For addict celebrities the idea of money and tv exposure is enough of an influence to get them in the door for help. I agree that an addict can only help themselves, but sometimes getting them into the treatment facility and detoxed off of the drugs is enough to open their eyes and see what they really want to do with their life.
I may not agree with exposing an addicts life on television, but the processes these addicts went through for 21 days if pretty real to what many individuals in a rehab facility get. They work with a team of doctors, they have individual therapy, they have group therapy, some places do music therapy. It’s all a process, and that is what I enjoyed seeing on Celebrity Rehab. Of course not every individual is going to come out of there with a perfect success rate. Hell, it took me 3 rehabs, 2 suicide attempts, and 2 years of outpatient before I finally realized I wanted to be clean and sober, and I have been since 2009. I guess what I am trying to say is that I don’t blame Dr. Drew for the short comings of his patients. I feel that he did what he could for them.
Congratulations on your sobriety, Lurker!!!!!
If you want to blame some of these deaths on Dr. Drew that’s fine because that’s your opinion, but based on Mindy’s circumstances the last month I think he’s off the hook for this one. And Jeff Conway died of pneumonia, so I think he’s off the hook for that one also.
So of his numerous patients on Celebrity Rehab he’s lost three?
I’d like to see if Transitions has the numbers on how many people are successful in their program the first time…
I’m jumping into the fray late because I didn’t get back on the puter last evening to read what had been said, so if I repeat someone’s comment, please be gentle.
I offer an example as a rebuttal to @chaos’ assertion that an addict can only be “cured” (for want of a better term bc we all know that there is no cure for addiction) if the addict enters the program through the desire to be helped.
Please bear in mind that I am NOT a fan of Dr. D. My comments in previous posts support that.
Anyway…
A good friend of ours, lifelong friend and frat bro of Hubbycat’s, was a raging alcoholic. A mean drunk, but functioning to the point of being highly successful attorney in our community. I would have been envious of his wife’s jewelry, but I knew that she had earned every bit. I always wondered why she stayed with him.
One night family and close friends staged an intervention and threw his sorry ass into rehab. It was worth it to his wife to take the last chance to save her husband and the father of their three little girls.
As he tells it, twenty sober years later, he went in going to show everybody that we couldn’t break him down. He was going to be the toughest SOB the Hazelton Rehab facility had ever taken on. And he resisted. He fought. He was the meanest he’s ever been… And that says a lot.
And then he began to listen. And the program started to make sense and he began to cooperate.
As one of the Gasmii, @Sarclassy I believe, many comments back, said about programs, success cannot be achieved immediately no matter what program it is. Whether through intervention or through the carrot of a cheesy tv program with a questionable celeb doctor to the screwed up stars, the addict has to follow up when and if an epiphany is reached. Miracles really don’t happen without hard work, but if the road begins with Dr. D, it’s still a start.
He has had many failures, but they aren’t really his failures. He is merely the carrot waver to get the celebs off on a start.
Let’s not lose sight, once again, of the fact that a life has been lost, a talent gone forever.
Yes, congrats, Lurker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Also addicts have a much, MUCH higher mortality rate than non-addicts due to all the risk factors in their lifestyles. So whether or not you think it’s ethical for Dr. Drew to exploit them for TV (I strongly lean toward no) it’s ridiculous to blame him for their deaths when many of them were likely going to die with or without his stupid show. If anything, his show just gave them more of a public spotlight so more people would pay attention/care when the inevitable happened.