Without further ado...on to Trash Talk!!
OPINIONS AHEAD.
PROCEED WITH CAUTION.
So, I just finished Jodie Sweetin's autobiography, Unsweetined.
Remember Jodie??
Yep, that's right. Stephanie Judith Tanner.
Read People? If so, you might know that she ended up like this:
Sadly, meth was only one small soldier in Jodie's war with addiction. Her alcoholism kicked in at age 14 (just after finishing Full House, and incidentally, with her first drink at Candace Cameron's wedding), she started smoking pot a year later, was on to Ecstasy by her junior year in high school, and added Coke, Xanax, and Valium to her repertoire in college. It was only after her first attempt at sobriety and her first marriage (to the cop) that she thought to give meth a try. Almost immediately, she was using morning, noon, and night. Jodie dabbled with recovery several times before it allegedly, finally stuck - following the birth of her daughter, Zoie. (Why you gotta go and spell the kid's name all wrong, Steph? That's not cool! It'll just make life harder for the little bundle! She already has to explain about that whole crystal meth addict mom/tatooed freak dad thing! Isn't that enough?) Apparently, the Tanner Tot is now clean, sober, and loving all the wonderful things in life. Except for the pesky custody dispute and mudslinging from the ex, that is.
Unsweetined was an interesting read, for the most part (though very poorly written). But, I have to wonder if it isn't all a scam to pull the wool over the public's eyes, hold on to custody of her kid, and get her name back in the papers. I hate thinking like that, but Jodie has lied about sobriety MANY times before. And she admittedly hasn't been clean the entire time since Zoie's birth, and has even driven drunk with the baby in the car. Her ex, Cody Herpin, has been trying to use her various addictions to get full and sole custody of their nearly 2 year old daughter since Jodie filed for separation, so the timing of her book release is awfully convenient...
If she'd just been in denial all of those other times she claimed to be clean, I would probably be more inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt. But, she was brazen in her lies and facades - going so far as to conduct an extensive series of campus talks on her recovery from addiction, all the while hopped up on coke and meth. She even worked at her rehab facility (Passages - basically, Club Med with a few of the 12 Steps thrown in) as a tech charged with helping newcomers settle in, while she was still using. Her 2005/2006 interviews with People and "Good Morning America" were frauds. She claimed to have been sober since her first stay in rehab, yet she'd relapsed several times. She was barely 30 days sober when she gave those interviews, and admits in her book that she had to lie to protect her reputation, and as damage control following a tabloid expose.
It all just makes me wonder how sincere Unsweetined really is, and if Jodie can actually stay on the wagon this time. I think it's the campus talks that jaded me. And working at the rehab facility. (Instead of moving one girl into Passages, she actually snorted meth with her!) It's scary to think that, all the while, people were admiring her and looking to her as a role model. And it makes me sad.
I admit, I loved Full House. And honestly, Stephanie was my favorite Tanner kid. I think she was a thousand times cuter than the Olsens, and a better actress, too. It's a shame that her potential was wasted on a lifetime of debauchery.
Maybe I'm wrong and just being overly critical or cynical. Read Unsweetined. It'll take you all of 2 hours to get through it. If nothing else, watch the GMA interview below. Then, tell me what you think. I'd be interested to know...
Regardless, I'm choosing to remember Step-On-Me Tanner - not as a crack-whore- but as the sweet, adorable Honey Bee we all knew and loved...
Mildly obsessed with Jodie Sweetin? So is this blogger! Check out all the Stephanie Tanner goodness at I'm Bringing Blogging Back. (Don't worry, it's more sarcastic and humorous than stalker-fan-esque...)
