After being in drug treatment for over a year, Redmond O'Neal has graduated to a new phase of his life – literally.
The son of actors Ryan O'Neal and the late Farrah Fawcett graduated Thursday from an intensive drug-court program, and received a hug from Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Tynan.
"My plan is to move forward with my life, clean and sober," O'Neal, 25, said in a statement released through his lawyer Richard Pintal. "I am going to do so privately and with as much quiet dignity as I can."
O'Neal had been undergoing intensive court-ordered treatment following a number of drug-related arrests. He briefly spoke to a crowded courtroom filled with friends and family of graduates, saying he was nervous to speak at the podium, but said, "Thank you to everyone in this courtroom who's helped me out."
Addressing the more than a dozen graduates, Judge Tynan said, "This is the fight for the rest of your life."
O'Neal's mother passed away from cancer last June.
A judge commended Redmond O'Neal on his "excellent progress" and graduated him from a drug rehab facility to a sober living environment after a Wednesday hearing in Los Angeles.
O'Neal, the 25-year-old son of Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O'Neal, was also praised by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Tynan for the "positive" decisions he had made in the last few months.
"It's a big, big day for Redmond," his attorney, Richard Pintal, stated. "Redmond has come so far. He's really feeling great."
O'Neal's incarceration stems from a January 2008 drug arrest and a probation violation. He is scheduled for another progress report on June 22nd.
First his wife entered rehab, and now Charlie Sheen is in treatment, too.
"As a preventative measure, Charlie Sheen has entered a rehabilitation facility," his rep says in a statement. "He will take some time off his series Two and a Half Men."
Sheen, 44, is also facing domestic violence charges stemming from a Christmas Day fight with wife Brooke Mueller, who herself went into rehab earlier this month, then switched centers amid complaints that her privacy was breached.
The statement did not elaborate on the reason for Sheen's treatment. The actor has reportedly gone to rehab programs at least twice before for drug and alcohol abuse, but a source says that this time the problem relates to the emotional fallout from the domestic violence case and his desire to avoid temptation. A relapse would be a violation of his bail terms and could send him back to jail.
"Charlie is stressed. He's tired. The kids are on his mind. Brooke's on his mind," the source stated in a recent interview. "A lot of things are on his mind. He didn't want to get a place where he had the urge to get high. He's not using and he doesn't want to. He felt like he needed to get away from negative influences around him and clear his head, rest and take a short break."
The source adds that Sheen's twin boys would be staying with his parents, actor Martin Sheen and wife Janet, and with Mueller at her rehab facility. Mueller's mother also planned to travel to California from Florida to help.
Production of Sheen's show "will be temporarily suspended," says a statement from CBS and the show's producer, Warner Bros. Television. "We wish him nothing but the best as he deals with this personal matter."
After being in drug treatment for over a year, Redmond O'Neal has graduated to a new phase of his life – literally.
