Will Hollywood Shelter Downey?

Nothing, not the diva-est diva, is more glamorous than a good-looking Bad Boy. Anyone expressing vindication in Robert Downey Jr.’s incarceration will certainly be met with indignant cries of Who-Are-You-to-Judge (“A Look at Downey Jr.’s Downfall,” by Amy Wallace and Robert W. Welkos, Dec. 10). After all, how do you punish someone for trying to be cool? (It’s easy to “just say no” to hard drugs when you can’t afford them.)

Downey’s defenders actually do him a disservice pointing out what a unique, gifted, talented actor he is. Not only is that irrelevant, it makes it easy to be cynical about his remorse: Is that an act too? (To Downey’s credit, he didn’t offer an abuse excuse, although mentioning that he’s been on drugs since the age of 8 comes close.)

Will it hurt his career? The late Robert Mitchum did time half a century ago on a similar charge and rose above it. As a spokesman pointed out, Downey didn’t have any commitments for the next six months anyway. He’ll get fan mail, write a book and come out (in time for the Oscars, as one article rakishly suggests) to a hero’s welcome and offers for enough work to keep him busy until 2026. Hollywood, fabled for its cruelty, takes care of its own.

KEVIN DAWSON

Sunland

The idea that drugs are hurting Robert Downey Jr. is ridiculous beyond compare. Even if they were it’s none of our business. It’s time for us to end the Puritan delusion that Big Brother should be allowed to tell people what they can put in their bodies--especially when they cause more trouble with their “Reefer Madness” laws than drugs could ever do.

The real crime is drug prohibition itself.

RALPH GIVENS

San Francisco