Legal Steps to Protect Mental Health in the Entertainment Industry

By: Kelsey Welby

Every few years, after a major controversy or event, the desire for legal protections in the entertainment industry increases.  Most recently, over 130,000 people have signed a petition on Change.org to “Enact Legislation to Safeguard Artists' Mental Health in the Entertainment Industry” in response to Liam Payne’s untimely death.  The creator of this petition describes a law that would “necessitate regular mental health check-ups, adequate rest periods, and the presence of mental health professionals on-set, including any ongoing support during their career.”  Although this law is targeted toward the government of the United Kingdom, there is a question of whether this would be feasible in the United States as well.  Recently, mental health issues in musicians have become increasingly obvious with artists canceling concerts and speaking out against mistreatment.  However, this is nothing new.  Entertainers have been suffering from mental health issues for a very long time, and unfortunately, Liam Payne is not the first untimely death.  Matthew Perry, Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, and more are all examples of the fatal effects of the entertainment industry.  The next step is determining whether a law protecting the mental health of entertainers is feasible in the US to combat these effects.

Just over a year ago, the World Health Organization released a set of guidelines regarding mental health care.  Mental Health America has also said that federal legislation could have a major impact on mental health care and protections.  However, the aforementioned suggested legislation does not mention entertainers.  Instead, it suggests protecting those in schools and workplaces, making sure human rights aren’t violated.  It is unlikely that legislation will be successfully passed in the United States to provide additional support to a specific group of people, such as the entertainment industry.  However, a lot of the mental health issues found in entertainers can be tied back to other legal issues.  Access to illicit drugs and social media has historically created many issues for entertainers, even leading to death.

Drugs are quite common in the entertainment industry, but addiction can lead to overdoses or other lapses in judgment.  Social media, on the other hand, has had increasingly horrible effects.  Loss of privacy, increased interaction with strangers, and more have caused problems with depression, anxiety, and eating disorders among celebrities.  Oftentimes, celebrity accounts are run by a team, and the celebrities themselves are urged to avoid social media.  These same effects have been found in many teenagers with social media, which led to a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing earlier this year with five social media CEOs.  Multiple bills have been introduced to protect children from the dangerous effects of social media, including the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act, the Kids Off Social Media Act, and the Stop the Scroll Act.  Whether further action can truly be taken is not yet known.  Social media and social media regulations are both very new concepts, and regulations tread on dangerous waters by getting too close to issues of censorship and violations of the First Amendment.

Many entertainers have taken steps on their own to seek therapy and psychiatry to deal with mental health issues, and therapists are on set during the filming of many television shows and movies.  It’s unlikely that we will see any legislation passed soon to manage the tribulations of the entertainment industry, but the more that concerns are voiced, the less power the stigma around mental health has.

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Sources:

Fetterman, Britt Introduce Bill to Require Mental Health Warning Labels on Social Media Platforms - U.S. Senator John Fetterman. (2024, September 25). John Fetterman. Retrieved November 3, 2024, from https://www.fetterman.senate.gov/fetterman-britt-introduce-bill-to-require-mental-health-warning-labels-on-social-media-platforms/

Grobar, M. (2024, July 23). Hollywood's Mental Health Crisis: Four On-Set Therapists Offer Advice Amid Industry Contraction. Deadline. Retrieved November 3, 2024, from https://deadline.com/2024/07/hollylwood-on-set-therapists-advice-industry-contraction-1235999815/

Kindelan, K. (2024, January 31). 4 takeaways for parents from the Senate grilling of social media CEOs. ABC News. Retrieved November 3, 2024, from https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Family/4-takeaways-parents-senate-grilling-social-media-ceos/story?id=106774122

Kv, D. (2024, October 18). Petition · Enact Legislation to Safeguard Artists' Mental Health in the Entertainment Industry - United Kingdom · Change.org. Change.org. Retrieved November 3, 2024, from https://www.change.org/p/enact-legislation-to-safeguard-artists-mental-health-in-the-entertainment-industry

MHA. (n.d.). The Federal and State Role in Mental Health. Mental Health America. Retrieved November 3, 2024, from https://www.mhanational.org/issues/federal-and-state-role-mental-health

Text - S.2073 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act. (2024, July 31). https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/2073/text

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WHO. (2023, October 9). WHO-OHCHR launch new guidance to improve laws addressing human rights abuses in mental health care. World Health Organization. Retrieved November 3, 2024, from https://www.who.int/news/item/09-10-2023-who-ohchr-launch-new-guidance-to-improve-laws-addressing-human-rights-abuses-in-mental-health-care