Michael Douglas’s new memoir‘One Helluva Ride’is out today, and it’s already one of the most talked-about celebrity books of the year. In it, Douglas writes about a Golden Globes party where he drunkenly told Julia Roberts to take her hands off his thirteen-year-old son Cameron and stick her Golden Globe where the sun don’t shine. Roberts was filming‘Flatliners’at the time, which Douglas produced, and had her arm around Cameron, who was Douglas’s plus-one for the night.
Douglas doesn’t shy away from the fallout. He writes that he crossed a line with the most in-demand young actress in Hollywood, then sent roses and apologized in person to Roberts and her then-fiancé Kiefer Sutherland. They forgave him enough to finish the film. He stayed friends with Sutherland but not with Roberts. Douglas also reveals he entered rehab for alcohol and substance abuse a couple of years after the incident.
The story is sparking a bigger conversation about how much celebrities should reveal in their memoirs, and how we handle apologies when everyone is watching. It’s candid, messy, and very human, which is exactly why people can’t stop talking about it.
What do you think: should stars share stories like this, or keep them private? Sound off in the comments.
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Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.