This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Dear Lindsay,
I chuckled when you emerged Oct. 5 from your two-month rehab stint at the Cirque Lodge near Sundance and, with no apparent irony, described your stay there as "a sobering experience." Good one. But you really cracked me up when you told OK! magazine that after heading to L.A. later this month to film a small movie role, you plan on returning to Utah so you "can stay focused and avoid other distractions."
There's something sweet, and a little naive, about your assumption that our "wholesome" state can't tempt you off course. Despite the moronic blogger who wrote that Utah "is so boring that [Lindsay] might become an alcoholic . . . again," you can get in trouble here just like anywhere else. We have bars and nightclubs and drugs and, I'm guessing, plenty of partiers who'd be thrilled to say they did coke or weed or whatever with Lindsay Lohan.
Are you sure you want to live in Utah? This is not a place that Hollywood, except for that old fogey Robert Redford, aspires to move to. During the Sundance Film Festival, celebs rarely leave the rarefied air of Park City for fear they may encounter real Utahns. We have no Tiffany's store or Hermés boutique, and there are only so many times you can shop at the Gateway. Plus it's gonna get cold here soon, and I don't think you're a skier.
To your credit, you've stuck it out here so far. In recent days the Beehive State rumor mill has been buzzing with Lindsay gossip: Lindsay buys shoes at Fashion Place! Lindsay eats Italian at Cucina Toscana! Lindsay has sushi at the Happy Sumo! Lindsay shows up at a house party in Sandy! Lindsay is looking to buy a house in Park City!
In photos snapped around town last week, you looked healthy and happy (the Sundance hat is a nice touch). Maybe it's our clean Utah livin'. Maybe it's your new boyfriend, fellow rehabber Riley Giles. But your presence is making some of us a little silly. On one YouTube clip of you emerging from a building, some dork shouts, "Lindsay, Salt Lake loves you!"
I can only speak for myself, but I think "loves" is a little strong. Lindsay, we wish you well. We're mildly amused by the fact that you're still here, lending rare celebrity cachet to our square ol' state. But we don't want to see sleazy Utahns stalking you with cell-phone cameras, trying to catch you buying a 12-pack at 7-Eleven or snorting something in a bathroom at Harry-O's. Given the leering paparazzi circus that follows your every Utah move, we're not sure we want you here.
And let's be honest: We don't believe you'll really stay.