Michael Douglas Defends Convicted Drug Dealer Son Cameron: 'He’s Been Made An Example Of Because I'm Famous'
May 13 2013, Published 12:47 p.m. ET
Michael Douglas’ troubled son Cameron is serving a 10-year prison sentence for drug possession and dealing and the actor believes his son is not being treated fairly because of his famous last name.
Douglas, 68, spoke to New York magazine about his son’s troubled history, saying that Cameron started doing drugs at 13 and was a crystal-meth dealer when he was caught up in a DEA drug sting.
“He was offered either a ten-year sentence or the chance to cooperate with their investigation,” Michael said about his son.
“His first call was to me, and I said, ‘You should cooperate.’ Naming names when it comes to drugs has a bad connotation, but the reality is, everyone talks. And it’s better than being in jail.”
The Douglas family is Hollywood royalty, and Michael says he believes that Cameron was unfairly targeted because of his family fame.
“I have gone from being a very disappointed but loving father who felt his son got what was due him to realizing that Lady Justice’s blindfold is really slipping.
“I’m not defending Cameron as a drug dealer or drug addict, but I believe, because of his last name, he’s been made an example.”
Michael reflected on his son’s “drug slip” just as he was scheduled to enter a nine-month drug-rehab program.
“I could have strangled him,” he said.
A judge added four and half years to Cameron’s sentence but his troubles behind bars were far worse. He was sent to solitary confinement for eleven months and family visits were denied for two years.
“When he had the ‘slip,’ I said, ‘You were two weeks away from starting your rehab program!’ But years of shooting up heroin screws up your system.”
Cameron is not eligible for parole until 2018.
Michael is starring in the upcoming Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra that will air on HBO on May 26.
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