Dr. Drew Facing Criticism in the Wake of Mindy McCready's Death
Posted by Jeremy Thomas on 02.19.2013
People are saying his track record isn't good...
Dr. Drew Pinsky is facing a backlash in the wake of Mindy McCready's death. McCready, who was a cast member on season three of Celebrity Rehab in 2009, was found dead of an apparent suicide on Sunday which makes the fifth cast member to die since appearing on the show, as well as the third from season three. Among those complaining was Richard Marx, who initially posted to Twitter:
I think "Dr" Drew Pinsky should change his name to Kevorkian. Same results.
He has since deleted the tweet and posted the following:
I went too far with the Kevorkian crack. It is, however, my opinion that what Dr. D does is exploitation and his TV track record is not good
Since season three aired in 2009, Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr and Real World contestant Joey Kovar have passed away; both died of drug overdoses. Pinsky was not available for comment on the situation, though his publicist issued a statement on Sunday night saying, "[McCready] is a lovely woman who will be missed by many," the statement said. "Although I have not treated her for a few years, I had reached out to her recently upon hearing about the apparent suicide of her boyfriend and father of her younger (child). She was devastated. Although she was fearful of stigma and ridicule she agreed with me that she needed to make her health and safety a priority. Unfortunately it seems that Mindy did not sustain her treatment."
Bob Forrest, a chemical dependency counselor who worked with Pinsky on season three of the show, spoke with Billboard and said that attacking Pinsky is just distracting from the show. He noted, "Regardless of your feelings about how we do it with the TV show, calling Dr. Drew 'Dr. Kevorkian,' what kind of dialogue is that? It's a good headline. We're going through a growth spurt in regards to who we are as a country. I really feel there's something going on in America beyond Mindy McCready's death."
