Teenaged son of Marie Osmond enters rehab

During an interview with Larry King today, Marie Osmond, 48 — already mourning the death of her father, George Osmond, last week — revealed that her 16-year-old son Michael is currently in rehab being treated for an unspecified addiction.  In a statement, Marie said,

My son Michael is an amazing young man [as] shown through his courage in facing his issues. As his mother I couldn’t be more proud of him. The press and public has always been kind and gracious in the past and I know they will continue to respect our privacy during this time.

Including Michael, Marie has a total of eight children; including Stephen, 24, Jessica, 20, Rachael, 18, Brandon, 11, Brianna, 10, Matthew, 8, and Abigail, 5. 

Source:  ETonline

Comments

Aren’t they Mormon? They’re not even allowed to have caffeine. I’m surprised he was even with a group of being experimenting with drugs let alone using them.

- Snapper on November 14th, 2007

umm….if she wants privacy, why did she “reveal” this personal information? i didn’t watch the interview…did larry king ask her about it and she was just politely responding, or did she just casually mention that her son is in rehab?

- M on November 14th, 2007

Marie has had her share of hardships lately. I hope everything works out okay with her son.

How many of her children are adopted? Just curious…

- HeatherR on November 14th, 2007

Oh my goodness, what’s going on, I mean she first collapses on Dancing With The Stars, now her dad dies, didn’t she get food poisoning too? and now her son is in Rehab. Marie you are a strong woman you’ll be okay.

- Leti on November 14th, 2007

Wow. Sixteen seem so young. I hope that he gets through this difficult time and come out healthy.

- Colleen on November 14th, 2007

Good luck to this family! I saw them on Oprah a few days ago, what a lovely family. I hope that her son gets well and that her family heals from their loss. God bless.

- Vanessa on November 14th, 2007

Larry King was horrid to put Marie on the spot like that, she obviously was taken by surprise. Even though you could see the shock and hurt on her face, she handled it with grace and dignity. All the best to her and her family at this time.

- Melanie on November 14th, 2007

I think this season of DWTS is cursed! At least for Marie and Jane. Two family deaths, Jane’s house nearly caught fire and now this.

- finnaryn on November 14th, 2007

Snapper- I am LDS and we are allowed to drink caffeine- just thought I would let you know. Its a common misconception. We aren’t supposed to drink Coffee, Tea, and Alcohol- and thats all.

- lauren on November 14th, 2007

Lauren, So as an LDS, is it odd to hear that he’s in rehab at 16? It seems strange to me that at such a young age (and with a family that prohibits drugs and alcohol) that he would already have an addiction. What are your thoughts?

- Snapper on November 14th, 2007

I hate to answer someone else’s question, but mormons are people, too. Some of us have addictions and it’s not entirely unheard of. We’re not all robotic! It is sad though, LDS or not.

- alana on November 14th, 2007

I think marie needs to stop talking, every channel I see marie and donny and recaps of their shows from years ago. They are literally on every entertainment show lately. I think she is hoping all this sympathy helps her win dwts, which seems to be happening since she doesn’t dance as good as other people who have been booted off. Last year one of her daughters had wild pics on a myspace, her children seem to have quite a few issues. She said her son has issues with being adopted, among other stuff.

- gianna on November 15th, 2007

Oh heather 5 of her children are adopted, and 3 are her bio kids. Stephen, Rachael, and matthew are her bio kids. Angelina will probably have a family similiar to this, maybe like 2 bio kids and rest adopted

- gianna on November 15th, 2007

16 IS young to have an addiction that requires rehab. Things like this can happen to any family. I hope for a healthy and safe recovery for Michael. Addiction is a family disease, so i hope they can all recover and come to terms with it.

- morgan on November 15th, 2007

Gianna,

I find your comments beyond offensive. If you’ve watched any of their interviews you’d see that they are celebrating 50 years in the business, which is why they are on television – not because their father passed on. And to even suggest Michael is in rehab because his mommy wants to win a dancing contest or that they are using their beloved father’s passing to win her votes… that’s just horrible.

Their father’s death was a huge shock to them all, and happened right before they were to begin celebrating their 50 year anniversary in the business. George was actually supposed to be on Oprah with them, and was looking forward to doing so, and when he passed away they decided to continue on with their appearances as a tribute to him.

Her still being on the show should be no surprise to anyone – she and her brothers have a big following. She probably should have been gone long ago but her fans are determined to keep her on. Just search for an Osmond fan community and you’ll see.

As far as her children being wild – I’m sure a lot of people would be shocked to know how HUMAN her kids are. They are not going to be perfect little robots just because their mom or dad has Osmond as a last name or because they were raised Mormon.

- Erin on November 15th, 2007

For those wondering about LDS beliefs regarding addictive substances, please go to the the most correct source, Mormon.org, to this link: http://mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/basic-beliefs/the-commandments/obey-the-word-of-wisdom

- Candace on November 15th, 2007

Some people are sounding really critical about the fact that they are such a tight kint family and questioning how this could happen. Not everybody is perfect and everybody has their issues. Mormons are just like everybody else and they do get divorced and some have children that succumb to peer pressure, and her children have obviously had to deal with the pain of divorce along with the basic trials and tribulations of being a teen. Also, I am sure that is isn’t easy having a parent as a celebrity either. I applaud Marie for maintaining her dignity with grace and class. Her deep faith was very apparent if you were watching Larry King. Larry on the other hand blindsided her and she obviously was shocked. As for people sick of watching Donny and Marie turn the channel! They are only speaking out because they are celebrating the family being in show business for 50 years and they wanted to honor their father which they have so beautifully. I am saddened by some of the insensitive comments that I have seen. Everybody has problems including celebrities.

- Robin on November 15th, 2007

Erin, Gianna didn’t say one thing that was untrue, they are on every channel and her children, yes like others, have had issues.
But just cause we all don’t have Osmond posters as wallpaper, doesn’t mean our contributions are offensive or less important.

- Emily on November 15th, 2007

I loved the look on her face when Larry King brought this up. She was totally taken off guard and didn’t seem to want to talk about it. Which I was shocked over. Seeing as how she has no problem talking about other private matters. She talked so publicly when her daughter was listing her sexuality as bisexual on her myspace. Her own daughter even talked with friends on Myspace (I saw the comments with my own eyes) that she had more hits on her myspace after her mother talked about it.

- Mary on November 15th, 2007

Everything she said is insulting, heartless and untrue. And just because I am defending her does not mean I’m an Osmond fan.

For your information, I have Jonathan Rhys Myers as my desktop background and zero Osmond songs in my music collection. Not a fan – just a defender against such offensive comments.

- Erin on November 15th, 2007

Ok two things…

1. I’m very sorry for the pain that Marie Osmond has been going through for the past few weeks. I can’t imagine her grief over losing her father, and I hope this current situation gets resolved.

2. Don’t take offense to this, but I think all of these things that are happening to Marie are keeping her in Dancing With the Stars. I’m sorry, but she’s not a good dancer. She and Jennie Garth aren’t in the same league as Helio, Mel B, and even Cameron Mathison. It’s the sympathy vote that I think she’s getting now.

- J. on November 15th, 2007

Snapper: I’m LDS too and as far as I know, there are few religions that SUPPORT drug use. EVERYONE can make a mistake. LOTS of kids unfortunately use drugs, Mormon or not. I appreciate that you are holding us to a high standard, but please don’t think just because someone is Mormon they can’t make mistakes.

I hope that Marie’s son is able to get the help that he needs.

- M on November 15th, 2007

It’s so difficult for me to see people who are religious and believe in God go through something like this, because certain people (not mentioning names, it’s fairly obvious) will harp on them extra-hard because of their prejudices against the religious. Everyone is human, and I think it’s ridiculous that you would insult someone you don’t know just because you disagree with their viewpoint or try to make it look like they are a bad person who is “milking” their publicity. Whether it is keeping her on the show or not, I’m positive that it isn’t purposeful.

- J on November 15th, 2007

From the New Era 1997:
“The Word of Wisdom prohibits tea and coffee, but we are left to make our own decisions on other foods and beverages which contain caffeine.”

New Era 1975:
“The Word of Wisdom is a guide to strengthening the body and mind and keeping them healthy so the spirit of the individual can function without impairment. If we understand the Word of Wisdom properly, we will do all things necessary to avoid weakening the marvelous temple the Lord has given us to house our spirit.”

My mother didn’t let us drink anything caffeinated growing up. I did drink a lot of Dr. Pepper in college, but I haven’t had a soda in years now (the carbonation is terrible for your bones, I studied it in a physical anthropology class and it’s scary what it does. Turned me completely off soda), and I love chai now but I take it decaf when I can. Interestingly, you can’t buy caffeinated sodas at BYU, although it isn’t official church dogma that caffeine is proscribed.

Anyway. Poor Marie. She’s having a tough year. She’s not a great dancer, I agree, I think she is getting a sympathy vote but, what can you do. It’s a popularity contest, not a dancing contest, really. It’s whoever the fans vote for most, so… It’s their decision whether to vote according to dance abilities or whatever other reason.

- Megan on November 15th, 2007

Larry King is Mormon, too- well, at least his wife Shawn is and so are their two kids, Chance and Cannon, he attends the LDS church with them- and they have a HUGE portrait of Jesus that hangs in their house.

Just b/c Marie is Mormon doesn’t mean that her son isn’t going to experiment with drugs and make mistakes. How many people who are raised Catholic have premarital sex? This is not Marie’s fault, and I think she’s brave for being honest about it.

- Erika on November 15th, 2007

I would think that a blog with as many readers, contributors, and advertisers as you have, WOULD BE ABLE TO AFFORD AN EDITOR.
He has an addiction or an addition? Because an addition isn’t always such a bad thing….maybe he got an additional hand implanted….that would be cool.

- gwendomama on November 15th, 2007

My son is also 16 and the thought of him being in rehab for whatever possible addiction makes my stomach turn. It’s just so awfully young… but then again, we aren’t celebrities and my son is thankfully not exposed to drugs or alcohol in the same way that a Hollywood celeb kid is. Fame and stardom sure has its downfalls!
Hope Michael gets well soon.

- pink.lioness on November 15th, 2007

Thank you emily. Erin nothing I said was offensive. Actually it’s just the truth, just turn on the t.v and everyday the osmonds are on et, access hollywood, oprah, larry king. Their father passed away a week, so does that mean every celebrity has to go on every talk show to talk about a death of a family member? I think the oprah thing was beautiful, but I don’t get why they are on et everyday, larry ling,and every other entaintement show etc. Um do people promte when a kid is in rehab or a parent passes away now. The reason they are everywhere is because marie is on dwts, so lets keep the public attention by talking nonstop. If she gets knocked off next week, let’s see how many talk shows she is on after that. I don’t see any of the other brothers doing much talking, it’s mostly marie along with donny. Which is no concidence considering she is on a hit show now. That’s my opinion, and I bet I will turn on an entertainment show tonight, and guess who will be on marie lol.

- gianna on November 15th, 2007

For all we know, he could be in rehab for gambling problems, he could be a shopoholic… It doesn’t say anything about substance abuse. All we know is that he’s in rehab for some unspecified addiction

- Hea on November 16th, 2007

One reason Larry King probably knows more than most about Marie’s personal life, is his wife is a very good friend of hers or used to be. Also, Marie adopted her first children as she couldn’t have children in her first marriage, if I remember right. Either way, the Osmonds don’t cover up their skeletons and never have. I’d rather know the truth about someone, than be shocked by their problems or personal tragedies later on. The media is responsible for the fact that we probably know more than we should. Back before television, even the President was safe from having his dirty laundry aired.

- San on November 16th, 2007

I would much rather see the Osmonds on TV promoting their 50 years of entertaining than to see Paris, Lindsey or Britney. At least the Osmonds have talent.

I do hope that Michael can find happiness and overcome whatever the problem is.

Marie is a woman of strength and courage.

- Terri on November 16th, 2007

Obviously no one watched the Larry King interview and saw the look on Marie’s face when he asked the question about her son, she was mortified that he knew.So I think everyone should cut her some slack just because they are Mormon’s doesn’t mean they aren’t human. And they are celebrating a tour and there 50th anniversary I would rather be watching the Osmonds than all this other negative hollywood crap.

- Debi on November 16th, 2007

I respect the Osmond family. They are a very nice family with good values. They are people like you and I. Sure they have problems who doesnt these days. Kids will be kids. I have followed their careers since they started performing and I am 100% behind them all the way.

- Mona on November 16th, 2007

this is very sad i love marie and hope her son gets all the help he needs on top of this she lost her dad poor thing shes in my prayers

- melissa on November 16th, 2007

Shame on you Larry King!!! Dont tell me after all the years of good TV, your turning
your show into some trash magazine show. Some thing are best left unsaid. Had Marie given her permission to talk about her son then that would be a different story.

- DINA on November 16th, 2007

Me again, I just have to say that Marie should have known that the press, Larry King would find out about her son and ask about it. She did not have to comment so much about it. She could have just said yes and said that that’s all she’s going to say. “Yes my son is in rehab but it is a personal matter and I will not speak anymore of it” She didn’t have to go into how he’s having adoption issues and so on. And she definitely did not have to go on ET and talk about it again. I agree that this woman as well as her brother are milking the recent attention for all it’s worth. It’s time they both shut up.

- Mary on November 16th, 2007

I also had a 16 year old that needed help…
That was 13 years ago..he is a wonderful son, husband and father now….I was told that 16 is a very difficult time for boys…and you know they didn’t just build that building for him…there are really many others.

- D L B on November 17th, 2007

You have my blessings however it came out stay strong and put god first people will judge god has the answer hang it there stay supportive for him and let him know we all have made mistakes and it will be all right he has to want it stay stroooooooooooooong and you will stay in my prayers I first really paid attention to you on Oprah and your family touched my heart .

- sharhondia mcmillian on November 17th, 2007

some of these comment are mean leave her alone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- melissa on November 18th, 2007

some of these commets are extreamly mean leave her alone!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- melissa on November 18th, 2007