The celebrity I have chosen to discuss is Charlie Sheen. I remember first seeing him in the movies Platoon and Navy Seals and thinking he was a stud up there with Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Later I saw him on Two and a Half Men, in which he plays a cheeky, smooth-talking bachelor. I think he was casted well for the part, as his character seemed similar to his true self. It worked out for him as he became the highest paid actor on television. Unfortunately, Charlie's public image began to diminish as rumors of drug and alcohol abuse surfaced.

Sheen attempted to go through rehab multiple times for his drug abuse and failed. He was accused of both assault and domestic violence in another case in the years before he was terminated from the show Two and a Half Men. Following his termination, he suffered a mental breakdown while being interviewed by Good Morning America, claiming he was a "Warlock" and has "tiger blood" and was "winning". The interview spread all over the Internet and became a meme. Sheen later revealed that he was diagnosed with HIV and has since made a lasting impact on the HIV positive community through charity and awareness.

I had not heard about Charlie's drug abuse prior to the interview meltdown, so my original perceptions of him were drastically altered from how I remembered him after seeing the video. However, I never really considered the situation he was in when he hit rock bottom. He pretty much lost everything and got labeled as a crazy drug addict. I admire Sheen's ability to persevere through such difficult times. After a media studies course I took in high school, I have been more attentive of what the media wants me to perceive and I learned to ask questions about what is not being presented. I think it has helped me avoid judging people/celebrities based how the media tends to portray them.

2: Britney Spears is arguably one of the most famous celebrity meltdowns of this generation. Britney found herself signing record deal after record deal in the 90's and early 2000's and grew to become one of the most influential pop artists of our time. With hit songs taking number 1 spots on all the charts, Britney was a huge success. She married the used to be love of her life, Kevin Federline and had two happy children in the L.A. area. So, lets set the scene; Britney is releasing great pop songs like Baby One More Time and Oops!…I did it Again, has married the love of her life, and has two healthy children. What happened to Britney in 2007?

All media platforms tell various stories of what had happened to Britney Spears. From what I can recall, she had shaved her head and jumped into a black hole. That's what the media had portrayed all over the world. It all started with the media showing Britney shaving her head in a salon and doing other crazy things. No media platform had mentioned what was going on prior to Britney's "meltdown." From delicate research that I have conducted, I have found that there were many things going on in Britney's life just before the media sources exposed the downfall of Britney. Her marriage was falling apart and they had filed for divorce early on in 2006. Britney slowly slipped into the L.A. party scene with Paris Hilton and Lindsey Lohan. These three together may have been a bad combination because of the gruesome photos released and rumors spread. Shortly after, Britney lost custody of her two children. This spiraled Britney out of control. With her family support, they convinced Britney to join a rehab facility. Britney joined the facility, then checked herself out of the facility 24 hours later to catch the first plane back to L.A.. The first thing she wanted to do was to see her children. After she was told that she could not see them and she needed help, Britney spiraled out of control and shaved her head. Thus, creating media buzz all over the globe.

Britney Spears' self presentation may not have been the best under any circumstance, but that leaves no room for us to judge her on her careless actions. Many people see Britney as a crazy artist that went off the deep end with her career. These are things that happen to people every day. Only because Britney was such a famous artist, the media stamped her as crazy and off the wall. I never saw one media platform that tried to take up for Britney, to understand her, or even touch on the experiences she was facing at the time. Britney has come back now from those dark times, has her own TV show, signed several more record deals, and regained her name in L.A.. The only thing I saw the media do was tear her down. No one can recall the media bringing her back up. Of course I made false accusations about Britney. I was young when this all went down, I believed everything various platforms said, and I never did my own searching for the truth. It is so easy in today's time to judge someone off of unreliable sources. The story is that everyone goes through tough times, people handle it vastly different, do things others would not agree with. But, we are all human, we all make mistakes, we all have darkness we have to climb out of and overcome. I think if anything, we can learn from Britney Spears on how going through the slums can always result in the utmost success.