Eva Mendes Was 'Brave' To Go To Rehab 7/7/08

Actress Eva Mendes insists she should be congratulated for seeking help in rehab, because it took guts for her to face her demons.

The 30-year-old actress entered Utah's Cirque Lodge in January (08) to "proactively" attend "to some personal issues". Mendes has never disclosed what demons she was battling, preferring instead to let the media speculate and "lie".

She tells the latest issue of Interview magazine, "There are so many lies out there regarding my recent trip to Cirque Lodge. But I don't care what people think. I just don't care.

So I will neither confirm nor deny (anything)." But she insists the move was brave, and celebrities should be applauded for seeking help. Mendes adds, "The other day I was reading an article.

I don't even remember who the actress was, but she's been around for a long time. She said something like, 'I'm proud that I've had a whole career without making it to rehab.' "I thought, `That's such a negative twist on it.'

I'm proud of people who have the determination and the fearlessness to actually go and face their demons and get better. This is a life or death situation. Again, I'm not a spokesperson for this, but it's just that I want to support people for their decisions when they do go in and get help.