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Tatum O'Neal reaches out to Britney

by Jennifer Jordan (Subscribe to Jennifer Jordan's posts)
Oct 5th 2007 6:50AM

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Filed under: Celeb Kids, Celeb Parents, In The News, Alcohol & Drugs

Coincident to the recent outpouring of support from Tatum O'Neal to other troubled starlet mama Britney Spears, I watched the Bad News Bears. You know, the original one with Walter Matthau. It was excellent, and I thought--oh, so THAT's who Tatum is!

Tatum didn't win her Oscar for her portrayal of a spunky pitcher looking for a father figure, and she didn't win any hearts over the drug abuse that lead a court to turn custody of her kids over to ex-husband John McEnroe.

You know things are scary when a judge chooses John McEnroe as a better role model for your children than you. Unlike Britney, Tatum saw the writing on the wall and sought the help Britney seems to reluctant to get.

Tatum underwent drug counseling, submitted to the drug tests and went to rehab. She is urging Britney to humble herself and do the same.

Perhaps this approach will work. Tatum is a recovered addict herself, and instead of chiding Britney like the rest of the world, seems to genuinely want to help her rather than use Britney's shortcomings to make her look better. Since the two former child stars share a similar past, maybe Britney will heed Tatum's advice and get the help she needs.

I think ultimately no one, media or otherwise, wants to see a mother have her children taken away from her. That someone violates the natural law. I think we'd all prefer to breathe a sigh of relief seeing Britney clean up her act and get her kids back.

Tatum is a shining example of how the system can work, and how you can win if you commit to doing it right. I just hope Britney has the ability to do the same.

Tags: Bad News Bears, BadNewsBears, Britney, Britney Spears, BritneySpears, John McEnroe, JohnMcenroe, Oscar, recovering addict, recovering addict', RecoveringAddict, RecoveringAddict', rehab, Tatum, Tatum O'Neal, TatumO'neal, Walter Matthau, WalterMatthau

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