Life Is Not a Fairytale
Sure, it may seem like a good time, but the laissez faire minor-celebrity party scene doesn't always do wonders for one's psyche. Take the sad (but maybe hopeful!) story of Marc Jacobs' former paramour Erik Rhodes. The successful and eager porn star was recently all over the place; enjoying Fashion Week and fancy celebrity-packed dinners, dating a famous designer, etc. He seemed a little dim, yes, but that only made him a more enjoyable character in the Jacobs saga. Dopey guy makes big (for a moment). And yet just a few short months later, Rhodes seems to be having something of a meltdown.
He writes on his blog that he is "pretty fucking unhappy," and details, with remarkable candidness (how 'bout that), his depression and escalating drug use. It doesn't appear to be a publicity stunt or a joke. It's just a young man in a downward spiral, reaching out where he can. For me, it serves as a grim reminder that when the lights go down and the cameras have turned away, these people are still there, with all the attendant sadness and anxiety that comes with being a person. Hopefully Rhodes will follow through on some of the life changes he writes about. I don't know. Maybe we should just put on our party hats and pretend we never read this.