• facebook
  • twitter
  • rss

DUFF MCKAGAN Slams 'Celebrity Rehab' Reality-TV Show

April 19, 2011

Duff McKagan is best known as the bassist and founding member of GUNS N' ROSES. He is also a founding member of VELVET REVOLVER. McKagan has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, won a Grammy and an American Music Award.

In 1999 the musician formed LOADED, which saw him move front and center on guitar and lead vocals. On Tuesday, April 19 LOADED released its new album, "The Taking", and in an interview with Sterling Whitaker of Examiner.com to promote the record, McKagan also spoke of his disdain for "Celebrity Rehab", the popular reality TV show that portrays celebrities undergoing treatment for various forms of addiction.

McKagan's former GUNS N' ROSES bandmate Steven Adler appeared on the "Celebrity Rehab", and when asked if he found that exploitative, Duff answered, "Yes. Absolutely. And the same with [ALICE IN CHAINS bassist] Mike Starr. I cringe, I think it's the worst thing for so-called sobriety. 'Hold on, we're having a breakthrough . . . Wait, we've gotta do makeup.' You know?

"There's a reason it's anonymous, because if you fail, you're failing on camera," he noted. "You're failing after you've been on this rehab show."

McKagan himself has gotten sober, and said that anonymity is crucial to success.

"Somebody didn't just come up with it because it sounds good," he stated. "Anonymous, you don't have to succeed all the time. You can fail, and you can still come back and nobody's gonna judge you. I wouldn't have wanted to try and get sober in a public forum. I don't think it's right so . . . whatever. That's how I feel. It's not cool."

"The Taking" is available now from Armoury Records and Eagle Rock Entertainment.

Find more on
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).