Dr. Drew Pinsky spoke out on Sunday about the suicide death of singer Mindy McCready.
McCready is the fifth person who has starred in the show "Celebrity Rehab" with Dr. Drew to die in the past two years.
Dr. Drew Pinsky told PEOPLE in a statement, "I am deeply saddened by this awful news. My heart goes out to Mindy's family and children. She is a lovely woman who will be missed by many. Although I have not treated her for a few years, I had reached out to her recently upon hearing about the apparent suicide of her boyfriend and father of her younger children. She was devastated. Although she was fearful of stigma and ridicule she agreed with me that she needed to make her health and safety a priority. Unfortunately it seems that Mindy did not sustain her treatment."
Two other "Celebrity Rehab" stars died of overdoses. Joey Kovar, a "Real World" reality participant died last August and Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr died in 2011.
"Taxi" actor Jeff Conaway and Rodney King, both on Dr. Drew's reality rehab show both also died.
Pinsky says, "Mental health issues can be life threatening and need to be treated with the same intensity and resources as any other dangerous potentially life threatening medical condition. Treatment is effective. If someone you know is suffering please be sure he or she gets help and maintains treatment."
Pinsky tells CNN he contacted McCready last month after her boyfriend’s death.
“When I heard she was struggling, I did reach out to her and urged her to go to take care of herself, get in a facility if she felt she needed,” said Pinsky, who hosts a program on CNN’s sister network HLN.
“Her biggest fear was the stigma of doing so and what people would think if she, God forbid, took care of herself. And this to me is the most distressing part of this story. She is a lovely woman, we have lost her, and it didn’t have to go down like this.”
Comments