To print this page, select "Print" from the File menu of your browser salon.com > People May 3, 2000 URL: http://www.salon.com/people/col/reit/2000/05/03/npwed Perils of fame Mariah Carey's family denies sister Alison's tell-all book about Mariah and spills all about Alison. Plus: Real-life Ed Masry slapped with a lawsuit; Hilary Swank won't bare all for Playboy; and Harry Potter keeps it in the family. - - - - - - - - - - - - By Amy Reiter Peril No. 1: A loose cannon in the family Remember that book Mariah Carey's sister, Alison, said she was writing? The one in which she claimed she'd reveal that she supported her sister's early singing career by turning tricks? No such thing. "The book doesn't exist," Carey's rep, Cindi Berger, recently told the press. What does exist, it seems, is a very troubled sister. Alison's prostitution claims may be true (although Mariah's camp denies that the singer ever benefited financially from her sister's professional dealings), but her own mother has issued a statement saying that her daughter is anything but a reliable narrator. "As Alison's mother, it has saddened me to witness her self-destructive behavior. She has been addicted to alcohol and other hard drugs for over 25 years and even lost custody of two of her children because of her addictions," said Pat Carey. And Alison's son, Sean, now an Ivy League law student, has come to his aunt's defense, too. "Mariah took on the role of caretaker of our family at an extremely young age," he said. "I reached a certain point in my life when I realized that, for my own sanity, I could not maintain a relationship with my mother. Without Mariah ... I can honestly say I don't know where I would be today." - - - - - - - - - - - - Peril No. 2: No one to trust "When you're a celebrity, it's hard to find people who are honest with you. Nobody wants to tell you your fly is down or you have a booger hanging out." -- Drew Carey on the difficulty of keeping his nose clean in the upcoming issue of USA Weekend. - - - - - - - - - - - - Peril No. 3: They all want a piece of you Now that Julia Roberts and Albert Finney have made them household names, everyone wants a piece of Erin Brockovich and her boss, Ed Masry. Not only were they recently the victims of an alleged extortion attempt, but Masry is now getting slapped with a wrongful dismissal claim. Masry's former employee Kissandra Cohen maintains that her old boss fondled her, tried to kiss her and fired her when she spurned his advances. They're called lawsuits, Ed. - - - - - - - - - - - - Peril No. 4: The attack from within Close observation of celebrities in their natural habitats reveals that, eventually, they eat their own. Witness, for instance, Garbage singer Shirley Manson's recent attack on Jennifer Lopez in the U.K. Sun. The two met at the Grammys, just before Manson and Moby were to present the hanky-clad star with an award. "We were backstage and everything was cool and normal, then that ludicrous Jennifer Lopez comes swanning around like she's the Queen of Sheba," snaps Shirley. "Sorry, Jennifer, but Moby has sold as many records as you and so have I. "Get off your ***ing high horse and eat sh** with the rest of us -- a beautiful face, but I want to punch it nevertheless." I guess it's true what they say about garbage in, garbage out ... - - - - - - - - - - - - Peril No. 5: Those pesky rumors Whisper what you will. Hilary Swank is no Darva Conger. Even if Playboy does offer the Oscar winner a whopping chunk of change to take it all off, her publicist, Troy Nankin, insists that there's "no way in the world" she'd do it. So don't even think it. - - - - - - - - - - - - Peril No. 6: The poorly handled legacy "We're not going to be intimidated by some little kid's book. That wizard's going to be wearing cement shoes by the end of the summer." -- Mario Puzo's editor, Jonathan Karp, on the final Godfather tome's battle with the next Harry Potter book. - - - - - - - - - - - - Peril No. 7: How quickly they forget David Hasselhoff can tell you a thing or two about the fickleness of fame. Variety reports that the former "Baywatch" star's new TV show, "Doublecross," has disappeared without a trace after it failed to score international financing. Observed one TV consultant, "It's almost impossible to launch a show if it doesn't have international backing." Unless, of course, it has a lot of babes in bikinis. salon.com | May 3, 2000   - - - - - - - - - - - - About the writer Amy Reiter is a staff writer for Salon People. For more columns by Amy Reiter, visit her column archive.