Lindsay Made Unwitting Poster Child for Drunkards
Here's guessing Lindsay Lohan won't be renewing her USA Today subscription.
The actress' attorney, Blair Berk, is blasting the ordinarily banal publication as "idiotic" for running a full-page advertisement Friday that uses Lohan's mugand mug shotto rail against an anti-DUI device.
The ad, bankrolled for by the American Beverage Institute, a trade group for liquor companies, states that ignition interlockers, which prevent a car from starting if booze is detected on the driver's breath, "are a great tool for getting hard-core drunk drivers off our roads" (presumably including Lindsay, or "Lindsey" as the print version misspells it) but otherwise infringes on civil liberties.
Making such devices standard would create a doomsday scenario, per the ad: "No more champagne toasts at weddings, no more wine with dinner, no more beers at a ballgame. Let's stop drunk driving without eliminating our traditions."
And that made Lohan's lawyer apoplectic.
"USA Today is idiotic to run such an irresponsible advertisement suggesting that drinking and driving is some kind of American 'tradition' we should protect," Berk said in a statement to News. "Not identifying that this ad was paid for by the liquor and restaurant industries is profoundly reckless.
"Drunk white businessmen, drunk housewives out for girls night out and drunk wedding parties should be kept off the roads of America. Lindsay Lohan fully endorses ignition interlock devices, which have been well-proven to save lives."
A spokeswoman for the American Beverage Institute said the mug shot was part of the public record and Lohan was fair game.
"The reason that we used Lindsay Lohan is because she's had multiple DUIs that have been high profile," American Beverage Institute managing director Sarah Longwell told the Associated Press, adding that the lobbying group took out the ad in response to several states enacting laws forcing first-time offenders to use interlockers.
"We needed to create the distinction for the public what someone with multiple DUIs looked like versus a low blood-alcohol-level first-time offender."
USA Today, meanwhile, sought to remain above the fray, calling its ad pages "a forum for competing views."
Lindsay Lohan’s Liquor Ad
Lindsay Lohan’s Liquor Ad
Making the most of a beautiful Friday afternoon, Lindsay Lohan was spotted doing a little shopping with gal pal Samantha Ronson.
The BFF pair hit up the Maxfield boutique, with LiLo clutching a Red Bull and sporting a multicolored shirt, black jacket, and a pair of her trademark leggings.
Perhaps the shopping excursion was a much-needed distraction from the recently-published full-page black and white ad in USA Today containing a not-so-flattering mugshot of the “Mean Girls” actress.
The ad was designed to attack legislation for devices that measure a driver’s blood alcohol level before their vehicle can start. Sarah Longwell from the American Beverage Institute (the people running the ad) told press, “The reason that we used Lindsay Lohan is because she’s had multiple DUIs that have been high profile. We needed to create the distinction for the public what someone with multiple DUIs looked like versus a low blood-alcohol-level first-time offender.”
The ad suggested that ignition interlocks were appropriate for “hardcore” drunk drivers but maybe not for the occasional social drinker.
And Lohan’s lawyer was irate. He told press, “USA Today is idiotic to run such an irresponsible advertisement suggesting that drinking and driving is some kind of American ‘tradition’ we should protect. Not identifying that this ad was paid for by the liquor and restaurant industries is profoundly reckless. Drunk white businessmen, drunk housewives out for girls night out and drunk wedding parties should be kept off the roads of America. Lindsay Lohan fully endorses ignition interlock devices, which have been well-proven to save lives.”