Lindsay Lohan comes to mind of course, so how do they get into the clubs? I am well aware of the “special treatment” thing, but is it legal in California to go to a club if you are under 21? Can you go in if you don’t drink alcohol? (Smirk)
Does the Cali ABC (whatever they are called) just not enforce it for the “stars”?
The guy at the door and the bartender let them in/give them drinks cause they’re famous.
It’s not like every bar at every moment has liquor inspectors/cops patrolling their premises, and besides that, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the more upscale ones that celebrities go to pay someone somewhere under the table to look the other way.
I went to clubs in California before I turned 21. They were 18+, generally, even if they serve alcohol.
Dana Carvey (whatever the character’s name was): “Lindsay Lohan, you BIG BIG star…”
Sir Rhosis
Yeah, but it seems that the pictures that show up in the scandal rags showing them drinking at X Nightclub would be enough to get the government to react… (Of course they’d have to prove that the liquid in the glass was alcoholic, which might prove tricky…)
Heh, I hear ya! And my post wasn’t as naive as it sounded. I know they don’t mess with these Hollywood party babes. I did find a link to an interview with a Cali ABC official who, after the usual “We don’t tolerate underage drinking anywhere” spiel, said “I thought they were all emancipated anyway.”
As far as I can tell, emancipation doesn’t allow people to go into bars underage, against state law, and you can’t legally be in a bar in Cali under 21.
The people who regulate alcohol sales in California is indeed the ABC, the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
As for getting to drink legally, 21 is 21. There’s no wriggle room there.
I would assume that a public place that sold booze to someone under 21 and was found out would face a fine or loss of their liquor license. I just assumed that Lindsay Lohan and her ilk got their drinks at places that were nominally “private.”
I’m sure a little bit of this (rubs fingers and thumb together making the international sign of moolah) goes a long way in a club owner’s decision to look the other way.
There are nightclubs in New York City frequented exclusively by the underage progeny of rich families in the area, many of whom take cabs in from Long Island ever weekend to do their clubbing. Alcohol is served.
In California, laws do not apply to A-list celebs. It’s in the state constitution or something. They would have had to entirely drop the case against OJ if his career hadn’t been stalled at the time.
True, though the money probably isn’t going to them directly. Think about this - Britney Spears got nearly half a million dollars just to show up to a specific Vegas Nightclub on New Years Eve. Not to give a speech or endorse the club or do a show. Just to show up and party.
Chances are, those clubs aren’t just letting Lindsey in, they may well be paying for her to be there. And even if they aren’t, they’re making masses of money off the buzz it creates.