Britney Spears, Tom Cruise, Michael Jackson: Why Superstars Go Crazy

Money. Fame. Power. Once you have everything, there is nothing else to strive for. It all becomes too much. Here is why superstars like Britney Spears, Tom Cruise and Michael Jackson go crazy.

When you hit superstardom as a teenager like Britney Spears did, when you are in line to be the next Madonna, it may seem at first as though life is perfect. But it is in a human's nature to always want more. More money. More fame. More power. Once you have everything, the mind wanders off in its own direction. It seeks some sort of normalcy. You start thinking, what if I married one of my low-life back-up dancers, popped out a couple of kids? When that doesn't work, you break from reality, party with Paris Hilton then blame her for your troubles; you flash your privates, drink and drug to excess, shave your head bald, go to rehab, and start it all over again.

Or maybe you shun alcohol and drugs and develop some other type of addiction. Like religion. Or a cult like Scientology. You find yourself a sweet girl, parade her around the world to prove you are heterosexual, impregnate her, and jump on Oprah's couch, like Tom Cruise.

Perhaps you seek your solace by pretending you are Peter Pan, by building a gigantic multi-million dollar ranch and call it Neverland, surround yourself with young children and hold inappropriate sleepovers. Maybe you disfigure yourself with plastic surgery, like Michael Jackson.

There are different degrees of crazy, of course. Kurt Cobain blew his own head off with a shotgun, but at least he went quickly and quietly and didn't endure his craziness being publicized for years in the press. Elvis Presley ate himself into a tub, then suicided in his own way. Same with Jim Morrison, Marilyn Monroe, Anna Nicole Smith.

Superstars go crazy as a result of their superstardom. If Britney Spears were working at a McDonald's in Kansas, she might still be partying without panties. But it would certainly be no big fucking deal. Tom Cruise might still be jumping on couches, but in private rather than on national television. And Michael Jackson, well, he probably would have never dangled a baby out of a window.

I know how puffed up I felt when I saw my first mention in a New York newspaper when I represented a client in a high-profile case, and that was nothing. Yet I acted like an ass for a week. So I cannot imagine how crazy I'd be if I were living the life of Britney Spears, Tom Cruise, or Michael Jackson. But if I had to guess, I'd say I'd be pretty goddamn crazy.