Rodney King is Going to Celebrity Rehab. Define “Celebrity”.

I just found out Rodney King is going to be on VH1’s Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew. There aren’t too many people who don’t know who Rodney King is. He was the man who indirectly sparked the 1992 Los Angeles riots, and is famous for saying, “Can’t we all just get along?” .

For those of you too young to remember, King was beaten by four police officers in L.A. after leading them on a chase when they tried to pull him over for speeding. A person who lived in the area was able to record all but the first 13 seconds of the beating. This is back when there wasn’t always someone around with a digital device to record everything and, and the internet wasn’t for your entertainment. The Los Angeles D.A.’s office charged the officers with use of excessive force. At the trial, the officers defended their actions by saying when they stopped him they thought he was under the influence of PCP.

Long story short: some questionable incidents happened regarding the trial, and in the end, three of the four officers we acquitted. People in L.A. didn’t like the outcome of the trial, and the rioting began.

Rodney King was later awarded $3.8 million in a civil suit. He used some of the money to start his own record label, Straight Alta-Pazz Recording Company.

And he also had a few more brushes with the law: in 1999 he was arrested for spousal abuse. In 2001 he plead guilty to three counts of being under the influence of PCP and one count of indecent exposure. He agreed to a year of drug treatment. In 2003 he was arrested for fleeing officers who were trying to stop him for speeding through a red light, and crashing his SUV into a house, while under the influence of alcohol. And last November he had the misfortune of getting sprayed with buckshot by people trying to steal his bike as he rode to his house.

He did not go on to star in sitcoms or movies. To my knowledge he did not have a hit song, either here or abroad. And I don’t remember staying up late to watch Milli Vanilli perform The Rodney King Show, because it didn’t exist. So why is he going to be on Celebrity Rehab?

For the record also joining him on Celebrity Rehab 2 are actress Tawney Kitaen, Nikki McKibbon from American Idol, Sean Stewart, Amber Smith, Steven Adler from Guns n Roses, and Jeff Conaway, who was unable to stay last season. The series is scheduled to air in October.