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Was Kirsten Dunst Depressed About A Substance Abuse Problem?

kirstin_dunst_rehab.jpg
Is snaggle-toothed actress Kirsten Dunst lying about why she checked into rehab? Back in February, the Spider-Man star put in a stint at the posh Cirque Lodge in Utah following a flurry of media reports that had her acting all sorts of crazy in public. Now that she's out and successfully rehabbed (well, sort of—an item in the Daily News notes she was acting "wobbly" at a New York bar this weekend), she's telling everyone that she initially sought treatment for depression, and not for drug and alcohol abuse like that other troubled, unemployable starlet and one-time Cirque inpatient, Lindsay Lohan. "I didn't go to Cirque Lodge for alcohol abuse or drug abuse. I went there for depression," she tells E!

And she very well might have been depressed! It's just that according to Cirque's "Admissions Guidelines," the facility doesn't treat patients for depression. In fact, being depressed might actually be grounds for non-admittance: "As much as possible, mental and emotional disorders should be stable prior to admission," reads the website.

Reached for comment, a spokesperson for Cirque told Radar, "Depression alone would not be grounds for admssion. We will treat individuals who are depressed, so long as they also have a substance abuse problem. We are a dual treatment facility."

So either Cirque made a special exception for Dunst (unlikely), or she's being a bit economical with the actualité. Why the duplicity? Well, for starters, depression is a far more sympathetic ailment than your standard booze or drug problem, so she's bound to engender more sympathy from the public. It also allows Dunst to separate herself from the Lohans and Spears of the world. Most importantly, though, using depression as an excuse allows her to "recover" in private. As she tells E!, "Depression is pretty serious and should not be gossiped about." So by playing up the mental sickness and hiding the booze and drug problem, she's giving (or at least trying to give) herself a pass with the press. Well-played, Kiki!

A rep for Dunst could not be reached for comment.

Comments

Maybe my sympathetic irritation is due to getting a bit of a snaggle in my lower teeth, but this unnecessary Dunst cliche (Perez much?) is beyond tired, and mean spiritied ( jeez, kick a girl when she's down). Isn't Radar supposed to go after the superficial banalities of celebrity like, say, veneers and whitening? Leave her natural smile alone. I come to this site to laugh, like I did had the Larry Craig book cover and captions, not to feel gross at cheap shots that require no thought. Isn't Shah the same writer that took Peter Travers to task for his cliches?
Crankily,
yoko

Posted by: yoko on May 29, 2008 1:10 PM

@Yoko: I actually didn't mean "snaggle-toothed" as an insult or put-down at all!. Believe it or not, I personally find it attractive! (See also: Jewel)

She should smile more! My only regret is we can't see the tooth in the photo.

Posted by: neel shah on May 29, 2008 1:24 PM

yea! may i propose "seductively" as an adverbial corrective? No more radar, must work.

Posted by: yoko on May 29, 2008 1:27 PM

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Posted by: tommmie on September 20, 2008 12:39 AM

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Hi i am tomcruise, Maybe my sympathetic irritation is due to getting a bit of a snaggle in my lower teeth, but this unnecessary Dunst cliche (Perez much?) is beyond tired, and mean spiritied.
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Posted by: tommmie on September 20, 2008 12:40 AM

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Posted by: tommmie on September 20, 2008 12:42 AM

Hi i am tomcruise, Maybe my sympathetic irritation is due to getting a bit of a snaggle in my lower teeth, but this unnecessary Dunst cliche (Perez much?) is beyond tired, and mean spiritied.
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