Amy Winehouse suffered from it. So did Lindsay Lohan. In 2001, Mariah Carey suffered an “extreme” case of it, according to her spokeswoman. And last week, the dread epidemic fell Brat Pack pinup Demi Moore.
The ebola of Hollyood? Exhaustion.
Moore was rushed to a California hospital Monday night “to treat her exhaustion and improve her overall health,” according to her publicist, Carrie Gordon.
Exhaustion is the catch-all excuse of cornered publicists, who don’t want to admit that drugs, alcohol, anorexia or whip-its are the real culprits.
And when “exhaustion” has been exhausted, it’s that other horror — “dehydration.” Actress Calista Flockhart had that back in 2000, on the set of “Ally McBeal.” Because water is so hard to come by on a TV set.
“Exhaustion is the key word that covers everything. It allows PR to respond without saying anything,” former publicist Rob Shuter told Fox News. “It also it means you are not lying, rather [you are] not telling the whole truth.”
But it’s also the most insulting of prevarications. Especially these days, when so many are truly “exhausted” — from working long hours, multiple jobs, just to make enough money to live, to suggest that multimillionaire actors and singers are so overworked is condescending. There are plenty of single moms who could school Demi Moore in “tired.”
Lie to us, fine, but don’t suggest that long nights of bingeing and purging is worthy of our sympathy. It’s exhausting.