Therapist: Troubled male stars get a pass

BEVERLY HILLS , Calif., Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Psychotherapist Rebecca Roy said troubled young female Hollywood stars are treated more harshly by the public and media than their male counterparts.

"Heath Ledger's death is being treated with kid gloves, for instance, yet Britney Spears is afforded no privacy at all in dealing with her issues," Roy, a former Olympic coach who now calls herself "The Industry Therapist," said in a statement issued Thursday. "It's as if there are jackals at the gate just waiting for her to commit suicide. It's a travesty."

Roy argued that high-profile women suffering from mental health or substance abuse issues should be afforded the same respect and privacy as Ledger or Owen Wilson, who reportedly attempted suicide last year.

Roy said it seems to her that male stars get a pass when they are in trouble, but female celebrities are penalized if they show they have real human needs and problems.

"Not only do the women have to deal with an impossibly high body image standard, but they are savagely attacked when they don't meet expectations on that front," Roy said. "Add this pressure to perhaps a pre-existing mental disorder and you have the makings of a very tortured soul."