I’m feeling for Steven Page. He was busted for cocaine possession last Tuesday when a police officer – investigating something else entirely – got a glimpse through a window inside the apartment where Page was allegedly doing some blow with a female friend. Read the arrest report here [PDF].
[rssbreak]
The story, in these dog days of summer, will doubtless have legs since this is an infamously slow news time and celebrity gaffes of this kind tend to get more attention than they deserve regardless of what time of year they occur.
And while some people may respond with a shrug and something like, “Close the drapes, moron,” I fear that in the States, this report could do some serious damage, even now when Page has only been charged not convicted. Page’s band the Barenaked Ladies are gigging in the states in support of a children’s album, of all things, called Snacktime! On their blog, the Ladies vow to press on, but cocaine allegations are not exactly family-friendly and the United States media is notoriously vicious in circumstances like these. Entertainment television’s gonna eat it up.
Here in Canada, let’s hope Page’s reputation as an intelligent, politically engaged citizen will eclipse whatever bad rap comes with these charges. Should he be convicted, we all know he won’t be the first musician on the planet to indulge in a little cocaine. But this is more than a bad boys will be bad boys kind of thing. Page is committed to the planet, he’s involved with the NDP – accent on the involved aspect, not the particular party – and he even did a free concert for the CBC workers when they were locked out two years ago
Let’s bear in mind that somebody can do a few recreational drugs and still make an important contribution to the world.
Good luck, Steven.
Photos taken from the BNL blog.
