Is Dr. Drew Addicted to Addicts?

The upcoming season of ‘Celebrity Rehab’ features such TMZ listers as Sean Young and Lindsay Lohan’s dad. If Drew’s right, it seems like a contradiction at best and a cruel joke at worst to put these troubled people in front of cameras, which reinforces rather than challenges their narcissism. Drew’s heard this criticism before. ‘Here’s the thing: These are unmotivated people who want to be on TV and make money. That’s why they’re there,’ Drew insists. ‘And in spite of that, they end up getting treatment, feeling good about it, being transformed by it.’ According to his informal data — follow-up calls, e-mails, what you read on Perez Hilton — about 20 percent of ‘Celebrity Rehab’ cast members stay clean after the program. Obviously the success rate matters less than the ratings, which are excellent.

Maybe Dr. Drew, chronic TV rehabber, isn’t totally evil? Although maybe he is.