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Many of us watch Hollywood celebrities for the same reason we watch NASCAR races; we love to see a good old-fashioned crash. For some strange reason, human beings have a macabre attraction towards stories with tragic endings. From Marilyn Monroe to Heath Ledger, celebrity tragedies and scandals have kept our eyes glued to entertainment magazines, tabloids, and television shows for decades.

Sometimes, we are surprised to learn which stars end up in mugshots and rehab clinics; other times we are not surprised at all. Some celebrities, like Britney Spears, Amy Winehouse, and Lindsay Lohan, have made a name for themselves more for their extra-curricular activities than for their actual accomplishments on stage or screen. We look at these scandalous starlets as though they are trainwrecks waiting to happen. But will the actions of these out-of-control celebrities someday prove to be fatal?

There are alot of things we need to take into consideration. For instance, many celebrity scandals are sensationalized and blown out of proportion by over-zealous paparazzi and tabloid reporters looking to make a quick buck or a name for themselves. Oftentimes, a runny nose can be be confused for a cocaine addiction, a parking ticket can be spun into a high-speed police chase, and a pair of dark sunglasses can signal either domestic abuse or plastic surgery gone horribly awry. Because of our human tendency towards the morbid and the bizarre, we automatically assume the worst. The paparazzi and the tabloids know that the American public is hungry for blood and thirsty for scandal, and chances are that many of the stories we read about are grossly exaggerated.

Another consideration is publicity. Many stars resort to out-of-control and over-the-top behavior in order to keep their name in the headlines. This is especially true when celebrities feel as though the brightness of their star power is beginning to fade. If a pop singer hasn't produced a hit song in five years, or if an actress continually stars in movies that flop, there's a good chance that outrageous out-of-control behavior is just around the corner. After all, fame is fleeting, and in the eyes of many there's no such thing as bad publicity. As one celebrity famously said, "I don't care what they write about me, just as long as they spell my name right."

Just what are the chances that this type of behavior will prove fatal? I believe that since celebrities are valuable commodities, it's very unlikely that their wild partying

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