Pity they can't do the same for Britney.

hollywood -- it's all about the priorities.

I don't care what you say, people. I'm sincerely moved.

Why do they have this power, and viewers don't?

Some decency? At long last, they have left some decency? Fuck me. Really?

Should have simply left Cojo's severed head in Pat O'Brien's bed.

I wonder if this was the same Chateau Marmont bungalow (#3) where John Belushi joined the choir eternal in 1982. Inquiring minds want to know.

@TheGrandToenail: Coz viewers keep on viewing and clicking.

Jann Carl and Mary Hartman would disappear into a puff of smoke if 'slebs didn't "come to ET first!" on the red carpet.

@mathnet: Me too. I like to see people use their power to take care of the people they love.

Xylo, I wish that made me feel better :(
Teh Hollywoods is making me all depressed, and I has noplace to runs from it because I works in it. Starting a film (that I do not want to do) Monday and often wondering WTF all of us are doing here and what our true value is.

I must go booze up now or my hatred for actors will consume me like a matchstick in a firestorm.

P.S., @Her Royal Empress,

Gosh, so do I, but why not give the Mafia the love instead? They do that just so much better.

@mathnet: I am too.

I think part of this problem with the video is that it shows some random dude doing a line, not heath. Of course, that didn't stop ET from insinuating it was Heath.

@BeAgrestic: Exactly. Now, what sort of fallout will come of this? Have the celebs who don't allow People to fund their "intimate parties" had enough?

@TheGrandToenail: Awwww, it wasn't supposed to make you feel better, it's just the facts; modern 'sleb addiction sucks. :(

Natalie Portman is perfect, isn't she?

I didn't realize Ellen Page had the power, but kudos to her for wielding it.

Also, @TheGrandToenail be thankful you have a job. Trite, I know, but I'm also currently unemployed.

@mathnet: I agree with you. It was a classy thing for them to do. The actors and publicists that is.

In related news, Jill St. John, Barbara Bain, and Hal Linden have all circled the wagons and threatened a similar black out if Larry King tries to run the video, or if Army Archerd makes mention of the tape in his archive column.

@mathnet: I'm kind of moved too, but I am not convinced that it doesn't have to do with the fact that these stars have also been at parties in the company of cocaine, and they too might have been unknowingly filmed at those parties in the company of cocaine and not doing cocaine but making jokes about a 20-year weed habit.

@TheGrandToenail:

"For most of the world, America is the great entertainment factory. The New Jerusalem envisionsed by the Puritans has turned out to be the world's leading manufacturer of amusement and cheap thrills. The colonists and their descendants did indeed build them a shining city on a hill - but they called it Disneyland. In the Declaration of Independence they enshrined, along with life and liberty, the inalienable right to pursue happiness. But happiness is hard. Happiness takes work. Even worse, happiness is a long shot. So America settled for fun, perfected it, and sold it to an eager world. Pop music, Hollywood movies, the seductive sound of ice chattering in a silver cocktail shaker - they are the tangible, consumable expressions of the lofty principles in the Declaration of Independence, the free culture of a free people."

William Grimes, in
Straight Up or On the Rocks, The History of the American Cocktail

@BeAgrestic: Yeah. It's obviously not Ledger snorting cocaine on camera --otherwise, they wouldn't have blurred out that guy's face. Now I'm almost wishing they would show the damn video. It's become clear that the speculation fueled by that ridiculous teaser is way more damaging and hurtful than the footage itself.

@pgroovesnore: The speculation is the worst part of this whole media spectacle. Why can't we just let it go? The news about the teaser has be broadcast all over the world at this point, so I agree that the damage has already been done.
@PaisleyPajamas: I'd like to say yes, but celebs using drugs is nothing new. Technology just makes it easier to catch them in the act.

The video was shown on the Australian news last night and although I agree that it is disrespectful and insensitive towards the affected families, it's not telling anything we didn't already suspect.

What the hell is the purpose in airing this anyway? Does it make him a better or worse actor? Does it make his death any less sad or painful? It's a cheap shock tactic and I'm glad someone finally said so.

glad it worked, but i wonder if it would have had they not had a lead story in britney's troubles developing overnight.

If I ran ET/The Insider, I would have called their bluff!
Not because running the tape would help anyone, but because these actors need publicity more than TV needs them!

Shall we all move on now? NEXT!

Aren't these the same folks who aired Anna Nicole made up like a garish clown and high as a kite?
Where were all you sensitive people when that went down?

@yvonnjanae:

i don't mean to suggest that mr. ledger's death is more tragic because he had talent and anna nicole did not, but:

mr. ledger had talent and anna nicole did not, and this makes his passing a bit more tragic.

@crackbabyjesus: Brace yourself: according to the LA Times, detailed reports of troubled celebrities help save lives.

In fact, Elizabeth Snead's impeccable piece has inspired me to start a campaign to get tabloid rags nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. Exemplary community service must and will be recognized, grieving families be damned.

So any help finding proof that publishing pics of OD'd celebrities in their coffins help curb drug abuse will be greatly appreciated (ie. River Phoenix splashed across the National Enquirer in 1993). I might even send you a bottle or packet of your drug of choice as a token of my gratitude.

Just goes to show it's a two-way teat.

@BeAgrestic: Oh, uh, I meant "had enough paps coverage," not "had enough of the blow."

::sheepish grin:::

Keep circling those wagons, Hollywood! While the creative community insists upon destroying itself with drugs, it's good to know that there will always be those to subtly (like in this situation) or not-so-subtly (reps who just out-and-out lie about their clients' drug abuse problems) excuse them. Keep the problem hidden and they'll just keep killing themselves. And I don't believe that these actors give one shit about Heath Ledger (with the exception of those that knew him). They just want to be afforded the same type of protection if/when a scandal happens to them... plus, look at all the good publicity this quashing is generating. It's a publicist's wet dream ... protect your dead client from looking like a washed-out druggie on TV sets all over the nation AND make your living clients appear to be a bunch of Mother Teresas in the bargain...

@allieanne: Yeah sure, I guess it's hard to believe "those actors don't give a shit about Ledger (with the exception of those that knew him)". But then it seems to me that you're saying you do. So why would you care if Hollywood "keeps the problem hidden" and go on "killing themselves"? If people chose to do drugs, it's their (and maybe their family's) business only. Do you want celebrities to be exposed and publicly scolded so they don't self-destroy, and/or "help raise awareness" as some disingenuous columnists have been suggesting these days? Or are you expecting them to live righteous lives -whatever the hell that means- so we can mere mortals take our life lessons from them? I don't get it.

I wish Ledger hadn't died so young. He will be sorely missed by many (including by movies, as Dana Stevens said). And I really wish his loved ones would be spared of his demise turning into a circus. Whether he died due to drugs or not, its absolutely irrelevant, and we sure as hell shouldn't be judging him for it.

BTW, I just saw the whole 8+ min unedited video of the "drug party". It's just him hanging out, talking about tattoos, smoking pot in the past, his girlfriend, his baby, while some people snort what seems to be cocaine. Pretty tame, actually. That ridiculously tacky ET teaser is a seriously evil example of false advertising. (Now see, while I can't judge people for what could be considered potentially hurtful decisions like doing drugs, I have absolutely no problem in going after those who lie, speculate and have no qualms about hurting people in the name of profit -and especially if they have the nerve to pretend they do it for other reasons other than money).

Since I am not in the industry, I cannot conceive of any reason for 'Entertainment Tonight' to even exist, much less be on the air for over 20 years. I see it once in a while and it seems to be nothing but 22 minutes of tease, commercials, tease, commercials, then "Tomorrow, an ET Exclusive! We visit Eva Longoria Parker on the set of her new Hallmark Channel remake of 'Long Day's Journey Into Night'.

E! should have killed this show off years ago...