Pat O'Brien in Rehab
The Insider is going into rehab.
Veteran TV personality Pat O'Brien has checked himself into an undisclosed facility to treat what he calls "a problem with alcohol."
"I have decided to take action by checking myself into an intensive recovery program," O'Brien said in a statement.
"Overcoming this problem is a top priority in my life, and I am excited to return to work as soon as I am able. I am overwhelmed by all the love and support from my family, friends and colleagues in the industry.
No word on exactly how long the bespectacled 57-year-old will be receiving treatment or how long he will be away from hosting chores at The Insider.
"We support Pat's decision to seek treatment and look forward to welcoming him back on the air at the appropriate time," Manfred Westphal, a spokesman for Paramount Domestic Television, which syndicates The Insider, said in a statement.
For now, hosting duties will fall to O'Brien's Manhattan-based cohost, Lara Spencer.
The timing of O'Brien's rehab announcement has been questioned by tabloids and bloggers, coming as it does just a day after salacious voicemail messages were leaked online purportedly featuring O'Brien making what the New York Daily News referred to as a "booty call." Producers have refused to comment on the tapes.
O'Brien left Access Hollywood last August amid some legal wrangling to launch The Insider, a spinoff of Entertainment Tonight.
He had been with Access and longtime cohost Nancy O'Dell since 1997. (Billy Bush took over upon O'Brien's departure.)
Prior to that, O'Brien worked fill-in shifts on Entertainment Tonight, but is best known for his long tenure as a sports reporter. He got his start in local markets in Los Angeles and Chicago before eventually joining CBS Sports.
Last summer, O'Brien covered the Olympics in Greece for NBC and MSNBC.
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