ALICE IN CHAINS Drummer Slams 'Celebrity Rehab' As 'Disgusting'

February 19, 2010

The Pulse of Radio reports that the new episode of "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew", which aired on VH1 on Thursday night (February 18),focused on former ALICE IN CHAINS bassist Mike Starr coming to terms with his own guilt over the drug-related death of his friend and bandmate, ALICE IN CHAINS singer Layne Staley. The episode featured an appearance from Staley's mother, Nancy McCallum.

Despite Starr's involvement and McCallum's appearance, however, other members of ALICE IN CHAINS have been vocal about their distaste for the program. Guitarist Jerry Cantrell blasted the show recently in a radio interview and drummer Sean Kinney told The Pulse of Radio he feels the same as Cantrell. "It exploits people at their lowest point, when they're not in their right mind, and the sad part is, this is like entertainment for people when it's actually a life-and-death situation. I don't think it helps anybody and it makes entertainment out of people's possible death, and that's pathetic and it's stupid. So I don't support that show at all and I think it's pretty disgusting. But Mike getting his life together or anybody doing that, I'll support that."

Jerry Cantrell remarked to an Atlanta radio station about "Celebrity Rehab", "That particular show, I think it's a real travesty and a shame to put people in a really vulnerable situation like that and make it entertainment for people to see."

Starr was ALICE IN CHAINS' first bass player and played with the band from 1987 to 1993. He appeared on the band's first two albums, "Facelift" and "Dirt", but left in the middle of the "Dirt" tour and was replaced by current bassist Mike Inez.

ALICE IN CHAINS vocalist Layne Staley died in 2002 after a long struggle with drug addiction that sidelined the band's career for many years.

Hosted by Dr. Drew Pinsky, "Celebrity Rehab" follows the real-life experiences of celebrity patients undergoing detoxification and treatment at the Pasadena Recovery Center.

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