Authorities are trying to crack down on one of the worst-kept secrets in Hollywood: underage stars partying hard at trendy clubs on the Sunset Strip and Hollywood Boulevard.
Doormen at Hollywood hot spots have been lifting the velvet rope for teen stars for years. Two decades ago, Drew Barrymore became tabloid fodder after being spotted drinking at Hollywood clubs when she was 13 and 14.
These days, there's no hiding the illicit behavior, thanks to the aggressive tactics of Hollywood's ever-expanding paparazzi corps, who document celebrities through every nightclub-hopping step.
That's what happened over the weekend to actress Lindsay Lohan. The 20-year-old was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after crashing her Mercedes convertible in Beverly Hills early Saturday, culminating a night of partying on the Sunset Strip.
A wave of publicity about underage drinking among celebrities has prompted the California Alcohol Beverage Control Board to step up undercover activities at several top nightspots. The ABC is seeking a 15-day closure order for Mood, a trendy Hollywood Boulevard club that was the subject of an undercover investigation.
Paparazzi photos made last year show Lohan, actors Mary-Kate Olsen and Frankie Muniz and Jesse McCartney, all underage at the time, partying there. (Lohan did not go to Mood on the night of her accident.) One photo posted on various celebrity websites showed McCartney, then 18, drinking from a Corona bottle at Mood.
But ABC officials said it takes more than a copy of Us Weekly to prove wrongdoing.
"We can't prove what's in the glass or where they were," said John Carr, a spokesman for the agency. "We need a witness on the ground."
The case against Mood is considered an important test. Some clubs seem willing to risk being caught serving underage stars if it will bring A-list talent -- and A-list publicity -- to their establishments, said L.A. City Councilman Eric Garcetti, whose district includes part of Hollywood Boulevard and who asked state officials for heightened patrols.
"To make a club profitable, they have to be celebrity-driven," Garcetti said. "People are willing to bend over backward to please celebrities. But you can't bend so backward that you break the law."
Even some paparazzi wonder why authorities aren't doing more.
