Why Haven Jim Carrey and Brooke Shields Suffered the Same Kind of Criticism?
The public response to Cruise’s comments has not only been unfair and destructive, it has also drawn arbitrary lines to try to police when celebrities can, and cannot, speak out. It turns out, for example, that celebrities’ commentary on psychiatric drugs is accepted as long they focus on their personal experiences – rather than speaking more generally, as Cruise tried to do. In a recent interview with 60 Minutes, Jim Carrey revealed that he’d been on Prozac “for a long time,” but had stopped taking it. His take on the drug was far more critical than complimentary: He said, “I’m not sure, it may have helped me out for a little bit..It felt like a low level of despair.You’re not getting any answers, but you’re living okay and you can smile at the office.” He adds, “I had to get off at a certain point, because I realized that everything’s just okay.” Carrey’s point of view is quite plain: Don’t take Prozac if you can avoid it. But unlike Cruise, he suffered no backlash, because he confin
