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MTV Show May Have Put DJ AM Over the Edge

Ex-addict got into close contact with drugs

By John Johnson,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 17, 2009 2:18 PM CDT
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(Newser) – Now that MTV is running the DJ AM reality show Gone Too Far—in which the recovering addict helped other addicts get clean—the question is tough to avoid: Did the show bring him too close to his demons and contribute to his death? It "could certainly have been a relapse trigger for Mr. Goldstein," a drug rehab expert tells the New York Times. "It crosses all of our minds," adds the network's president of programming.

In an interview posted, and since removed, on MTV's website, DJ AM himself recalls picking up a crack pipe in one episode. “I realized my palms were sweaty and I was like, wait a minute, this is not smart for me to be holding this.” One friend thinks the answer is more nuanced, placing more blame on the plane crash Goldstein survived in 2008. He needed painkillers, which set him on a dark path, and suffered severe anxiety. “I think the plane crash killed him,” he said. “It just took a year for it to do it.”

Adam Goldstein, also known as DJ AM.
Adam Goldstein, also known as DJ AM.   (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg, file)
Adam Goldstein, also known as DJ AM.
Adam Goldstein, also known as DJ AM.   (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg)
Adam Goldstein, also known as DJ AM.
Adam Goldstein, also known as DJ AM.   (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)
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As soon as the cameras stopped, he put it down. He had a moment holding that crack pipe, and he had to talk about it. He spoke to his sponsor. He made program calls. - BJ Hickman, intervention expert who appeared on 'Gone Too Far'

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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 8 comments
brawne
Oct 18, 2009 6:17 AM CDT
As the mother of a twenty year old better than your ass any day because he would never have written something so judgmental Bipolar II Depressive who killed himself and left a lovely note about saving his family--you observer can eat me.
brawne
Oct 18, 2009 4:37 AM CDT
He gets huge points for living with an addiction that kills you in 24 hours. Smoke? You got about thirty years or never since gene for lung cancer is rather rare. Drink? You got about forty years case it takes a long time to kill your liver which regenerates everyday. Opiates? Everyday is a gift. Too bad that the other addicts don't give it its due.
Spudsy
Oct 18, 2009 3:14 AM CDT
You are either a very lucky man to never had to deal with a depressed friend or relative or more likely you just ignore and hurt your depressed friends or relatives. Or maybe you are just very young and in for some very sad knowledge that adulthood brings you. In which case, enjoy it while you can, but be careful not to speak of that which you do not understand unless it is a question.

 
reality TV • MTV • DJ AM • Adam Goldstein • celebrity death • drug overdose

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