David Hasselhoff's Drunken Relapse
For alcoholics, recovery is a lifelong journey often punctuated by relapses. If you're a celebrity, those setbacks come under even greater scrutiny in this viral age. In 2007, entertainment shows pounced on a video of David Hasselhoff's embarrassing regression into alcoholism. In the video, shot by his daughters, a messy, drunk and topless Hasselhoff is seen stuffing a cheeseburger down his mouth while slumped on the floor. "Dad, you need to promise me you're not gonna get alcohol tonight," his daughter says. "If you get alcohol tonight, you're fired from your show tomorrow." Slurring his words, a distraught Hasselhoff mumbles that he drinks because he's "lonely." The whole sad situation was widely parodied, which probably didn't help the Hoff's recovery — or his tendency to serve as a late-night punch line.