"Depression at the Cool Kids' Table"

The entertainment world was blown away on Thursday, when reports of hip hop mogul/manager, Chris Lighty’s apparent suicide hit the internet.

According to the New York Daily News, Lighty, 44, who represented a multitude of artists, including 50 Cent, Mariah Carey, Souljah Boy, LL Cool J, and Diggy Simmons, and brokered the deal between 50 Cent and Vitamin Water, was found in the backyard of his Bronx home with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. 

Hundreds of artists/industry insiders took to twitter on Thursday afternoon, expressing their shock, sadness, and angst over Lighty’s untimely death.  The most overwhelming sentiment conveyed was that people in the entertainment industry are not immune to the realities of depression, sadness, and loneliness—regardless of how happy they may appear to be in the public (or even the private) eye.  Indeed, it was just months ago that the entertainment/sports world was turned upside down when retired NFL linebacker, Junior Seau, ended his life by shooting himself in the chest at the age of 43, and months before that, that Don Cornelius of “Soul Train” fame, killed himself by a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 75. 

Although depression is relatively common in this country (according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), one in every ten U.S. adults suffers from depression), the conversation surrounding depression tends to focus, primarily, on individuals who are unpopular, professionally unsuccessful, overweight etc.

But what about the proverbial ‘cool kids’?  After all, just because a person is attractive, successful, and/or wealthy doesn’t necessarily mean they are happy.

This goes doubly for members of the entertainment industry.  It was Kanye West, himself, who said, “But the people highest up got the lowest self-esteem.”

The truth is, however, that the average person finds it difficult to conceive how an individual who appears to “have it all” can be unhappy—nonetheless unhappy enough to commit suicide.  This may be accountable for the constant and unforgiving judgment/ridicule often imposed upon celebrities...and why so many troubled stars find themselves in rehab, jail, or mental health facilities before anybody even acknowledges that there is a problem.

As I read Lighty’s twitter timeline, one of his last tweets rang out eerily in my mind: “The blueprint to happiness doesn't start with Money or Success.”

Indeed.

Let us love more, judge less, and remember that when it comes to dealing with this life shit, NONE of us are exempt.

R.I.P. Chris Lighty.