As I understand artists like Eminem and many others, who have been part of AA, they go to the meetings, and talk their story. Share their experiences and etc.
I understand many of them are already public but still I am sure they share some sensitive stories there.
Of course in AA everyone is a friendly family community, but how is it possible that people don’t gossip about stuff after? Especially having a celebrity on their meeting?
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Because the other people there are also alcoholics trying to get their lives together, and it becomes like a brotherhood. I’ve been going to AA for 10 years and there is a very famous author who attends one of the meetings I go to. We all know who he is, and I even told him I like his work once, but nobody cares. He’s just one of us.
They’re not going to the same AA meetings as Joe from the local dive bar that got nailed with his 3rd DUI. I’d imagine they have AA opportunities that are exclusive for high profile people.
I’ve been to meetings with famous people. It’s not a big deal. They’re just people ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Half expect they would go to a celebrity-only one, that way any damage one could do, another could do right back though if one presents as wholesome and others not so much, it could still backfire, but they might respect the environment. Or have actionable NDAs if they’re caught.
There are a surprising number of “recovery” meetings that are special-interest or word of mouth. Some are for celebrities, sure, but many others are for folks like lawyers and clergy (confidentiality), medical professionals (HIPAA), and I know of at least one that’s all sex workers (not a legal thing but a safety thing).
But also, for a lot of celebrities, their drunken antics have already been caught/publicized by the tabloids so them sitting in a room saying “I’m so and so and I’m an alcoholic” is not exciting. Page 6 is like WE KNOW ALREADY.
Most people in AA/NA take it seriously. Very seriously. There are rituals and a precise way of doing things that underscores the sanctity of the space.
There are some sweet answers here, but I’m sure that if you’re important enough to NEED anonymity there is a network of similar people who hold their own meetings.
Leo McGarry in the show The West Wing was a member of a small, exclusive meeting of high level politicians. While it’s television, it’s likely accurate.
I suspect in LA there’s special AA and NA meetings for people whose participation needs to be kept quiet. You could also have people sign NDAs I guess?.
I’ve seen several famous AAs at regular meetings in NYC
“What you see here and hear here, let it stay here when you leave here
-Hear hear”
A few things:
At first, most sensitive things are shared with one person or a small group of friends during private conversations. Celebrity or not, a sensitive issue usually carries guilt / shame along with it. People are hesitant to share these things with anyone let alone with a room full of people. It takes awhile before these feelings are overcome. Once the guilt / shame are overcome then, frankly, it doesn’t matter who knows about the past… because it’s the past.
The point of sharing a sensitive issue is for identification. It’s so others who have done something similar don’t feel alone (if they have shame / guilt about it) or so that others might take heart in the work it took to have the courage to share something sensitive with a room full of people they hardly know.
The point of “open sharing” isn’t to share war stories full of drinking / drug use. Sharing the personal experience of using is spoken about so that others can identify with where using took you. The balance of the story (hopefully the majority of it) is sharing where the strength to abstain comes from to provide hope to others.
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