Nicole Dellolio – Opinions Editor
Glee fans were shocked when it was announced that Cory Monteith, 31, who played Finn Hudson on the hit show, had died. He was found dead in a Vancouver hotel room on July 13, as a result of mixing alcohol and heroin. Being a huge Glee fan, I found this news shocking because I had thought Monteith put his substance abuse issues behind him months ago.
According to People magazine, Monteith admitted himself into a rehab facility in April for substance abuse and was released in April as well.
Off-screen, Monteith was dating co-star Lea Michele, who plays Rachel Berry on Glee. Characters Finn Hudson and Rachel Berry were an on-again, off-again couple that had their fans rooting for them to end up together at the end.
Lea Michele made her first public appearance at the Teen Choice Awards when she accepted the award for best comedy and dedicated their winning to Monteith.
In her acceptance speech, she expressed her gratitude for the support from her fans, “For all of you out there who loved and admired Cory as much as I did, I promise that with your love we’re gonna get through this together. He was very special to me and also this world.”
Seeing the cast dedicate this award to Monteith showed the struggle that they are all going through and how much their fans’ support has really made a difference with their coping.
I personally was hoping that their characters would end up together by the end of the series, but with this tragic turn of events, the writers of the series are going to have to figure out what to do with Monteith’s character.
Kevin Reilly, Fox’s Entertainment chairman, told reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour that Finn would be written out of the show in the upcoming fifth season.
“Cory’s character will be written off,” said Reilly. “And it will deal directly with drug addiction and the circumstances surrounding Cory’s death.”
Glee returns to Fox on Sept. 26 with the rest of the cast and crew and the episode dealing directly with Monteith will be broadcasted in the beginning of the season.
Monteith’s final movie, McCanick, will premiere at the Toronto Film Festival on Sept. 9. This was the last film that Monteith participated in and it portrayed him in a completely different role than what his fans are accustomed to him doing.
Director Josh C. Waller told Entertainment Weekly, “The character [Cory] plays is this drug-addicted street hustler, and he was wanting to tap into things from his youth–which he’s been very open about publicly.”
Monteith isn’t the first and won’t be the last celebrity to fall victim of substance abuse, but it should make people aware of the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse.
In 2011, singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse died as a result of alcohol poisoning at the age of 27. In 2008, 28-year-old Heath Ledger passed away as a result of combined drug toxicity using prescription drugs.
These two instances are just other examples of when celebrities have given into substance abuse issues that have resulted in ending their lives. These tragedies need to serve as lessons for younger generations to learn from so they can be properly aware of the dangers of drugs and alcohol.
People always assume that celebrities and people in the public eye are living the dream, but tragedies like these show the reality of the situation. Celebrities are just like everyone else and go through the same struggles and problems that people go through daily, but they are seen by the public as living picture perfect lifestyles.
