Courtney Love

[angelaudie]

Drug addiction certainly has physical aspects. Yes, your body does crave drugs when are addicted to them. When you go into drug withdrawal your body does not initially take it well. Many become violently ill and are in extreme pain. That's why rehab is usually needed for addicts. Without medical personnel to keep an eye on the addict and encourage them the person is very likely to say, "Forget this!" and take drugs to ease their pain.

Still, a certain mental attitude is needed in order to kick drug addiction. For starters the addict has to acknowledge he or she is an addict and then want to get help. Also, as state earlier, the addict has to be willing to take responsibility for past bad behavior.

I get the impression that Courtney just doesn't want to stop doing drugs. As crazy as it sounds I think she sees drug addiction as something glamorous and the ultimate sign you are a rock star. She seemed to have found the sober lifestyle, which she experienced during the Edward Norton period, boring. So, sad and harsh as it might sound, Frances isn't enough to inspire Courtney to clean up. She probably loves Frances but in her own narcissistic way. It's all about what Frances can give to Courtney not what Courtney can give to Frances.

[spider]

Frances probably refused to hook her Mom up. And everyone knows high school kids have all the best connections. That's why Courtney had to disown her.

[Deleted]

My point was that Charlie Sheen was probably born a sociopath. I don't know what his childhood was like, but his siblings all turned out okay. Charlie would've probably turned out the way he did no matter what. I suspect the same was true of Courtney. Linda Carroll wasn't mother of the year, but it sounds like Courtney was born the way she was.

I don't believe Courtney is a sociopath because she seemed to truly love Kurt and her pained emotions when briefly speaking of Frances during her BTM interview appeared genuine. I do agree that she was probably born with some sort of mental illness, though. There is a lot of missing history when it comes to Courtney's childhood. I was more intrigued by her relationship with her stepfather than her mother. This seemingly decent guy who supposedly loved her chose to send her out to the wolves (foster care) rather than allow her to stay in his home. Why? Courtney's behavior must have gone far beyond 'troubled child' to cause him to take such extreme and callous action. BTM also didn't touch on the fact that Courtney spent some time with her wacko dad during her teen years. Lord knows what happened when those two got together. From what I've seen of her biological father he's a total nutcase, and any predisposition to mental illness would have most likely come from him.

After seeing the rehash of the Kurt and Courtney story and the ups and downs Courtney has had since then I have to wonder if it was Kurt that brought her down and caused more damage to her life rather than the other way around. She has been blamed for causing his downward spiral and I have to say that is complete bullshit. This is a man who had a beautiful daughter that he clearly loved and yet decided to blow his head off and leave her. He must have thought Frances was better off with her father dead than alive. I can't imagine the self-loathing it would take for a parent to go that far and I can't imagine how damaging it must have been for Courtney to live with that immense self-loathing and depression. Seeing those home videos of Frances was heartbreaking. Kurt and Courtney were way too messed up to be raising a child, but they loved her so much. It's so sad. It would interesting to hear Frances' story someday, especially if she beats the odds and goes on to have a successful life.

[Ginger]

I don't believe Courtney is a sociopath because she seemed to truly love Kurt and her pained emotions when briefly speaking of Frances during her BTM interview appeared genuine.

Are sociopaths incapable of love? Because although Courtney did "love" both of them, she was also extremely abusive towards both of them. Frances has severed their relationship, and if Kurt had lived, that marriage was not going to last much longer (by Courtney's own admission).

There's definitely something majorly wrong with someone when they can't maintain a single relationship in their entire life. There's not one family member, friend, or band member who hasn't had a major feud and broken all ties with Courtney at some point. Some of them reconcile with her, but it doesn't last. Ten years ago you could say, "Courtney must not be all bad if Erik Erlandson/Drew Barrymore/Edward Norton/Frances/whoever sticks by her." But all of those people have turned against her. I don't think you can blame that all on her childhood.

Also, I'm only about 80% sure she didn't kill Kurt. And I bet everyone who knews them isn't 100% sure either.

[Deleted]

I'm not buying that Kurt is a blameless victim. He was a suicidal junkie and it's no stretch to believe that he killed himself.

[Deleted]

Kurt and Courtney were both highly messed-up people with mental illness issues and drug problems, I think they made each other worse. It's not healthy to spend so much time with someone who's so much like you in the wrong ways. Kurt killed himself.

[Deleted]

IIRC, didn't he write in his suicide note that Frances was better off without him?

Yep:

For Frances, for her life will be so much happier without me.

That's sad.

[bitterntwisted]

I find Courtney to be a walking, talking dicotomy. It's clear that she suffered a lot of rejection in her early life and it made her hard and defensive, saying a big FU to the world in general. She was going to spit in the world's eye before it even had a chance to hurt her. At the same time, I think she craves acceptance/love from others. I remember in her Barbara Walters interview her and Courtney mentioning her mother saying she had this "hole" that needed filling in her soul, hence the name of her band. One minute she is this alternative rocker despising the mainstream, but then willingly persues a Hollywood film career the next.

I feel sorry for her in that she is so naked emotionally speaking. She just spews and sets her up as a target. As a female you can only be so vulnerable in public, before they dismiss you as a nutbar. She has her problems, but she isn't the devil incarnate.

[angelaudie]

Sad indeed. I bet there isn't a day that goes by that Frances doesn't wish her father had held on for her. From the interviews she's given it sounds like she has idealized him a bit but I supposed that's natural. She never knew him and has probably heard mostly good things about him.

I bet the reason why Frances tried to have a relationship with Courtney is because she had already lost one parent and didn't want to lose the other. Plus, Courtney is her mother and despite how screwed up she is you can't help but love your parents. You may not like them very much at times but you do love them. It must have been so difficult for Frances to make the decisions to sever ties from Courtney even though it appears to be the right decision.

Ten years ago you could say, "Courtney must not be all bad if Erik Erlandson/Drew Barrymore/Edward Norton/Frances/whoever sticks by her." But all of those people have turned against her. I don't think you can blame that all on her childhood.

So, Drew finally tired of her as well? I was wondering if Drew finally had enough of Courtney's drama since it's been years since Drew has defended Courtney.

Frances appears to be a sane and stable girl but we can't give Courtney credit for that. Frances is sane and stable due to her grandmother, aunt, and maybe even Courtney's former stepfather. BTM also made it sound like Edward Norton was good to Frances as well so I guess we can throw in the sane friends Courtney has had over the years.

[Ginger]

I'm not buying that Kurt is a blameless victim.

I totally agree with you. Just because Courtney was abusive towards Kurt doesn't mean he wasn't just as messed up and abusive as she was. They were two peas in a pod, and almost every bad thing you can say about Courtney you could say about Kurt too.

He was a suicidal junkie and it's no stretch to believe that he killed himself.

Of course. He was on the verge of suicide or a heroin overdose for years, and when he died his life had gotten completely out of control. But I also think it's a possibility that Courtney decided to hasten along his inevitable demise before he had a chance to divorce her. Like I said - I'm at about 80% that he killed himself.