Mischa Barton has been photographed out drunk, or at least visibly tipsy, a few times in the past few months. She hasn’t been busted for another DUI since her first arrest after Christmas, though, so at least she’s staying off the road. She isn’t staying sober, but I guess that’s her business. It’s legal and she’s not hurting anyone.
Barton recently admitted that she went to rehab after her DUI arrest and pretty much states that she didn’t do it to get sober – she did it to satisfy the judge and get off with a lighter sentence. Maybe I’m reading too much into what she said, but that’s what it sounds like to me:
And now Barton has revealed she punished herself over the lapse in judgment by locking herself up at an unnamed rehab clinic in a bid to prove to herself and the authorities she was not a drunk.
She tells Marie Claire’s UK edition, “I wanted to prove to the court that I would take it completely seriously, so I went to rehab to prove I was sober.”
“It really helped in getting the more serious aspects of my case dropped because, you know, that’s what they want to hear; you’re not an alcoholic and you don’t have a problem. So I did it in the most low-key way possible – I didn’t make a fuss about it and I didn’t tell a lot of my friends. I just did the program and got through it.”
And she’s still angry with herself for driving while over the limit.
She adds, “The thing is, I hate drunk drivers. Living in L.A., I can’t stand them, and that’s why I was so disappointed in myself. It’s so not worth it when you put other lives at risk.”
[WENN via 9WSYR]
She didn’t do it to prove to herself that she could get sober, she did it to prove to the court. The segment of the article that’s published here doesn’t specify whether she went for a full 30 days or if she spent less time in rehab.
Barton is just 22. She seems to have learned her lesson after driving drunk and sobriety is not for everyone in their early 20s. Still, there have been plenty of stories about her problems with alcohol. She was recently said to have been falling down drunk at a club. Her boyfriend was so embarrassed and lily-livered about it that he just left her there to fend for herself. It sounds like she needs to ditch the boyfriend – and the booze.
Mischa Barton is shown below leaving Grill Royale restaurant in Berlin on 7/18/08. Credit: WENN. She is shown in the header on 6/18/08. Credit: Fame Pictures
Good for you. If you like your alcohol so much, then call a cab when you’re ready to leave the party. Not hard to do at all.
Lot’s to say on this subject but, can’t go on because I HATE DRUNK DRIVERS!!
i agree this is so hypocritical and the way she nonchalantly admits she manipulated the court system makes me sick. you’re sober or not–it’s like being pregnant. and i actually don’t blame the boyfriend for leaving her–a serious co-dependent would keep mopping up after the female dog. she’s a shameless drunk and a pothead and god knows what else and should really just focus on working out her butt and thighs and perhaps becoming a serious actress and shut up! 👿
Meh. It’s the fault of the California politicians and the court system for being so f*cking lenient with drunk drivers. If people think they can get away with a drunk driving charge by going to some 4-week program, of course they’re not going to take it seriously.
Try this – first time you’re found guilty/plead guilty to DUI, you have you’re license suspended for five years, you serve 90 days in jail, and you pay an enormous fine. That should cut down on the drunk driving.
Something about her is not right. I have heard rumors about her that could make you vomit — rumors about sleeping with people even more repulsive than Cisco Adler, but which I shouldn’t repeat because they’re only rumors… But I can see that she is tormented. No 21-year old should be looking this used up and blotto. She’s got that “wasted party girl on her way to the gutter” thing going on.
I wish you were a judge Kaiser, I agree with your punishment plan.
In my state repeat offenders after doing their jail time have their vehicle rigged so they have to blow into a tube to even start them. They also have to have lovely DUI licence plates. 😉
Call a frigging cab if you’re too loaded to drive. 😕
She’s an alcoholic…probably depressed about her career. She needs to take care of herself better but also wants to have fun all the time.
I actually think Mischa looks pretty in the top pic. That being said I think she is a total mess. I have no clue about her acting, never seen her in anything, but she was attractive enough to have made a decent living and sounds like now she is pretty much unemployable.
And had I known about CA’s drunk driving laws being so lax I woulda spent my 20s driving around sloshed all the time–no, I despise drunk drivers.
And c’mon Merseybeat! Spill the beans, it’s gossip as long as you aren’t claiming to know for a fact what have you heard?
Merseybeat: Do tell!
What makes you think California DUI laws are lax? 4 week program? Not even close in most cases. Usually you get a fine over $1000, 3 to 9 months of alcohol classes (which you also pay for)3 to 6 months of license suspension, probation & sometimes community service.
I’ve never received a DUI but a few of my friends have. Most of them got convicted with a .08 or .09. Cops are quick to get ya since it generates so much money.
What she says about getting out of severe punishment by going to rehab is true – I watched quite a few of my old party crowd do it here in California.
Now that I’m older, I agree with Kaiser. We need to have stricter punishments for drunk drivers without leniency for first timers or celebrity status. And while we’re at it, lets crack down on the bars serving underage people as well. My brother in law got caught for the second or third time a year ago and only lost his license for a month plus an overnight in jail. Shameful considering how many people lose their lives due to drunk drivers.
I think she’d be perfect for Lindsay Lohan.