Live chat: Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and celebrity law

2007-07-25 13:05:32.0 Administrator2: Welcome to the Celebrity Law chat with L.A. Times reporter Richard Winton!

2007-07-25 13:05:39.0 Administrator2: Welcome, Richard, and thanks for chatting with us.

2007-07-25 13:07:10.0 Administrator2: Is there a big difference in the public view between the recent Paris Hilton craziness and the current Lindsay Lohan case? Do people respond differently to these different celebrities?

2007-07-25 13:09:38.0 Richard Winton: The public response is very different. In Ms. Hilton case there was a lot of anger with her release while in Ms. Lohan’s case there seems to be sadness and disappointment. Mnay people remember her as a kid actor.

2007-07-25 13:09:44.0 Andrew in Phoenix: Does anyone feel that both Lindsay’s Lohan’s mother and her publicist are to blame for her downfall?

2007-07-25 13:12:21.0 Richard Winton: Ultimately as is often the case with addiction the person themselves is responsible. However, particularly in Hollywood people enable celebs. In Ms. Lohan’s case her family splits haven’t helped. I don’t think her publicist plays much of direct role.

2007-07-25 13:13:05.0 Administrator2: Why do people care so much about celebrities like Lindsay Lohan?

2007-07-25 13:14:36.0 Andrew in Phoenix: Administrator2, I really don’t care one way or another about Lindsay. However, the MSM, the L.A. Times included, seem to enjoy following celebrities around.

2007-07-25 13:16:07.0 Richard Winton: Increasingly people seem drawn to people of celebrity status. I have stood there and watched as regular people will stand and watch a celeb and then get out a camera at an event and start flashing away. In Ms. Lohan’s latest case there are real issues of addiction and drunk driving.

2007-07-25 13:16:20.0 lindy: Do you feel celebrity justice is different in LA vs. other places?

2007-07-25 13:18:35.0 Richard Winton: Yes and no. I think LA is really the place you see it occur because the celebs are here. But take a celeb to Iowa and see what happesn when their car gets pulled over car. I suspect any of the issues here will emerge there. People sadly treat celebs differently.

2007-07-25 13:19:40.0 Andrew in Phoenix: It seems that the last rehab Lindsay was at allowed her too many privileges. One of the tabloids reported that she was allowed to prance naked at the rehab’s grounds. Plus six weeks didn’t seem long enough. Sounds like she didn’t get the help she needed.

2007-07-25 13:22:40.0 Richard Winton: Several experts on treatment I have spoke to doubt the value of rehab that allow cellphones, provide 5-star rooms and allow day releases for filming and shopping. They also suggest that six weeks may detox a person but rehab is a long term goal with constant monitoring. I suspect Ms. Lohan is now finally moving more down that path

2007-07-25 13:22:49.0 lindy: You say people treat celebrities differently but as with politicians, they choose to be in the public eye so why shouldn’t they be looked at more closely

2007-07-25 13:22:50.0 lindy: There are responsible celebrities and politicians who do not repeatedly cause themselves to be on the front page for this type of behavior.

2007-07-25 13:26:24.0 Richard Winton: anytime a celeb violates the law in a way that endangers others then they can expect to be the subject of attention. like it or not Ms. Lohan was a role model to thousands of youngsters with films like Parent Trap and Freaky Friday. So her behavior doesn’t only harm her but those who admired her.

2007-07-25 13:26:36.0 Administrator2: Will LA courts and law enforecement be a lot more strict with Lindsay than they were accused of being in the Paris Hilton case, since they got so much flak about Paris’ early release and accusations of favoritism, etc.? Or will celebrities always be treated differently by law enforcement?

2007-07-25 13:29:04.0 Richard Winton: I am told the very nature of the potential charges here with a second dui and cocaine in her pocket will likely lead this to be much more serious. the authorities are likely to take a tough line and certainly Paris Hilton case is warning to how the publci feels about this. The DA and the sheriff are both elected officials in LA County

2007-07-25 13:29:35.0 Andrew in Phoenix: Do you believe the fact that celebrities are treated differently than the rest of us contributes to some of them engaging in self-destructive behaviors?

2007-07-25 13:32:29.0 Richard Winton: In any society when a person become enabled they tend to test the boundaries. In the case of celebs those boundaries are way beyond Joe Public’s boundaries. Most people are stopped by money or those around them. Unfortunately with celebs often those around them work for them and yes is only answer to remain there. So the self destructive behavior is easier without any naysayers.

2007-07-25 13:32:49.0 lindy: people in the public eye choose to be there for the most part. There are countless celebrities who live decent out of the public private lives and keep their problems private and go to clinics etc.

2007-07-25 13:33:43.0 Andrew in Phoenix: Jodie Foster is one such example. She’s a former child star who’s still going strong and I haven’t heard anything bad about her.

2007-07-25 13:35:46.0 Richard Winton: Yes most the actors and actresses I know personally never make the tabloids for anything like a crime. If you want to avoid such press you don’t go down Robertson Boulevard ( a popular tabloid photo hangout or go to a house in Malibu with photogs from the tabs. You can be a top notch star and avoid the flashlights daily.

2007-07-25 13:35:51.0 lindy: how about drew? last year or two even courtney love went to rehab

2007-07-25 13:35:54.0 lindy: unfortunately i have to agree that many of these people have “yes” men and women working for them..without family who cares about the person and not just the paycheck many of these kids are going to conitinue to have trouble....so society becomes the new parent

2007-07-25 13:37:50.0 Richard Winton: I cover Ms. Love’s arrests and she hit rock bottom and got the real treatment needed. Her daughter and family helped turn it around.

2007-07-25 13:37:52.0 Administrator2: Why do you think Paris, Nicole and Lindsay all kind of blew up at the same time?

2007-07-25 13:38:51.0 Andrew in Phoenix: Paris, Nicole, Lindsay and Britney are on their way to becoming Time’s people of the year!

2007-07-25 13:39:26.0 Richard Winton: The society as a parent isn’t only a celeb problem. Go to the streets of LA and asking any beat cop about how many of the arrests they make are really because of a lacking of parenting.

2007-07-25 13:39:35.0 lindy: long lack of parental or other support... and accountabliity.....the club gang mentality, getting away with it for so long...

2007-07-25 13:41:15.0 Richard Winton: It would be sad statement on society for any honor to bestowed on such behavior. I don’t think the families of those killed by DUI drivers see it that way.

2007-07-25 13:41:52.0 lindy: I completely agree, we have big issues with absentee parents or parents who have never learned to parent so kids raise themselves with few limits....but the problem is the same for those poor kids, middle income and rich kids...

2007-07-25 13:42:28.0 Andrew in Phoenix: It seems that with Lindsay’s lifestyle, she may never accept responsibility for her actions.

2007-07-25 13:44:05.0 lindy: I do hope that these young celebrities learn to moderate their behaviors ...they should face the exact same consequences as other kids...and as the new elections move forward perhaps money should be provided for better care for all kids ,and those in trouble.

2007-07-25 13:44:28.0 Richard Winton: The juror is out on Ms. Lohan’s future. She is at a crossroads. With addiction acccepting responsiblity is the beginning. An email she allegedly sent to an Access Hollywood reporter suggests she is denying it is her cocaine.

2007-07-25 13:45:32.0 lindy: these kids sell papers, ,magazines, movies , videos, records, etc. there are a lot of people who will lose if they get straight...its big business...how sad

2007-07-25 13:45:55.0 Andrew in Phoenix: Richard, that is the typical response I see all the time when people get arrested for drug offenses. I see this on “Cops”. They always say “it’s not mine”.

2007-07-25 13:46:28.0 lindy: i saw that last night and today on the web...congrats to Billy for trying to put out something for parents to think about....

2007-07-25 13:47:09.0 Richard Winton: it is a big business. What is more strange is some of the tabloid outfits are owned by the very same companies that own the studios making their movies.

2007-07-25 13:47:24.0 Andrew in Phoenix: Another part of the problem is that fans seem to love it when their favorite celebrities misbehave.

2007-07-25 13:48:45.0 Richard Winton: The that is not my drugs is regular statement of anyone caught with a bag on say LA skid row. I have stood there are drug busts and heard that time and time again.

2007-07-25 13:49:03.0 lindy: everyone loves a bad boy or girl? That only plays out for a while...what is going on now is way out there...dui ...????people can get killed! This isn’t stealing boyfriends or acting out nasty in public..these kids are dangerous

2007-07-25 13:50:51.0 Richard Winton: I think the current flock of young celebs once were considered so-called bad girls etc but now the behavior is crossing into more serious territory. Ms. Lohan’s life is really on the line here. This is not the next episode of the OC.

2007-07-25 13:51:04.0 lindy: so continue to report it on front of the paper or magazine ??/what spin to put on it????Now that is a journalists and editors responsibility to not make it look glamorous but straight news

2007-07-25 13:52:05.0 Andrew in Phoenix: Maybe not putting stuff like Lindsay on the front page of the L.A. Times is a start. I say put it on the front page of the Calendar section.

2007-07-25 13:52:48.0 lindy: good luck in trying to report it and make it look like what it really is...and not encourage kids to continue to want to be like these people....

2007-07-25 13:53:45.0 Richard Winton: Different publications and websites handle it differently. The LA Times is going to a straight ahead voice on these issues. Don’t expect to see Ms. Lohan in a bikini here on the front page.

2007-07-25 13:54:56.0 lindy: I hope the times continues to report factually we have tabloids for the crap

2007-07-25 13:55:26.0 Andrew in Phoenix: I see them on the supermarket checkout line everyday.

2007-07-25 13:56:03.0 lindy: too bad we have so many celebrity shows out there...some report responsibily some glorify this type of behavior..kids watch

2007-07-25 13:56:24.0 Richard Winton: one interesting and rising issue on these cases is newspapers like the LA Times don’t pay people for information or provide deals and when there is money to be made others do.

2007-07-25 13:58:02.0 Richard Winton: it has moved beyond the tabloids to the web. today the web can generate a story every minute on a celeb.

2007-07-25 13:58:17.0 lindy: thanks for having this discussion...I faithfully read the Times cover to cover daily and do the news and entertainment also on the web...I have read the paper since I was a kid and found the Times to be one of the better papers around through all the changes..

2007-07-25 13:58:22.0 Andrew in Phoenix: It’s called “the new media”.

2007-07-25 13:58:53.0 lindy: the web is fine for bullets of information but it seldom covers the whole story..thats why newspapers in print or on the web are so important for the reporting of the rest of the facts

2007-07-25 14:00:04.0 lindy: Lets hope the judges in these cases have the wisdom of solomon.....they need to have courage too...someone needs to

2007-07-25 14:00:40.0 Andrew in Phoenix: We need more judges like the one that sent Paris Hilton to jail. Sheriff Baca needs to stop giving them preferential treatment.

2007-07-25 14:00:44.0 lindy: thanks again for hosting this discussion, signing off

2007-07-25 14:00:50.0 Administrator2: We’re going to wrap it up now; thanks for coming to the chat, and thank you, Richard!

2007-07-25 14:01:14.0 lindy: kudos and thanks

2007-07-25 14:01:26.0 Andrew in Phoenix: Thank you.

2007-07-25 14:02:17.0 Richard Winton: Thank you for all your comments and input. The views of others are always important when covering any event from close range.