Winehouse gives in to celebrity trend, goes to rehab

Thank God for that - Amy Winehouse is finally in rehab. Don't get us wrong, we're not so personally invested in Amy Winehouse's private life that news of her rehab trip has left us overjoyed, but at least now she's bitten the bullet all the headline writers in the world can roll out those inevitable 'Amy Winehouse In Rehab: Yes, Yes, Yes' headlines that they've been keeping on hold since Amy Winehouse had a drug overdose last week. Seriously, this is like Christmas for those chaps.

But on a more serious note, it seems to me that there is a larger celebrity trend emerging here. In the past we were content to let our troubled celebrities drive themselves to early graves with over-the-top debauchery. But now if a celeb gets one little DUI or drug-binge stomach pump or racially insensitive druken rant, they have to go to rehab. The upside of this is that fewer celebrities will die of overdoses, sparing us the lukewarm sentiments reserved for recent famous flame-outs like Chris Farley or Lane Staley. Looking back, it's been over a decade since River Phoenix went down outside the Viper room, and celebrities seem to have wised up a little since then. The result: it's not better to burn out than fade away; go to rehab now and live to party another day...