Is Christina Aguilera's New Boyfriend Bad For Her?

By John Mitchell Posted Mar 1st 2011 10:15PM

These days, it's easy to forget that Christina Aguilera is a four-time Grammy Award-winning singer who has sold over 50 million albums. The pop star is now better known for forgetting the words to the national anthem, stumbling on stage, being drunk at parties, the failure of her most recent album, the dismal reception of her feature film debut, a canceled tour, rumors of very inappropriate behavior at family functions and now an arrest for public drunkenness.

The past year was a tumultuous one for the 'Beautiful' singer. Aguilera simply can't seem to do anything right, and with each new headline, her reputation as one of the most talented vocalists in music takes a hit. Critics frequently complain of auto-tuned pop stars and divas that are more style than substance, but we all know Aguilera is the real thing. She can sing just about anyone under the table and is known as a brilliant live performer, so how have things gotten to this point?

Friends of the star are pointing fingers at Aguilera's new beau, Matthew Rutler. "There's a real concern about this guy, and a lot of her friends feel she needs to get away from him," a friend of Aguilera's told PEOPLE. "Hopefully, what happened [on Tuesday] is a real wake up call."

Aguilera met Rutler on the set of 'Burlesque,' where the 25-year-old was working as a set assistant. While not much is known about Rutler, he has been a constant presence in Aguilera's life recently and an active participant in many of her most recent embarrassments.

There have been plenty of rumors about booze-filled nights and drunken dalliances, but one thing is for sure: Rutler was driving erratically through West Hollywood last night, with Aguilera in the passenger seat, when cops pulled the couple over at around 2:45AM. Officers arrested Rutler at the scene for misdemeanor driving under the influence and set his bail at $30,000.

On-scene authorities determined that Aguilera was "extremely intoxicated," so much so that she was apparently unable to take care of herself and was taken into custody. A few hours later, after sobering up, the pop star was released and will not be charged with any crime.

A source close to the singer told TMZ, "If the driver had not been arrested for DUI, [Christina] would have never been in trouble."

"Her friends are fed up," a separate source recently told Us Weekly of Aguilera's recent behavior. "Nobody can get through to her."

Friends of the singer have reportedly been pressuring her to enter treatment for alcohol-related problems.

"She is going out more and drinking more," PEOPLE's source continued. "She feels she is embracing her freedom and enjoying life ... but now friends are hoping that she takes a step back and focuses on herself for a while."

The arrests come less than a week after reports that Aguilera and Rutler had sex in a bathroom at a family gathering, leading those close to the singer to label her recent behavior "trashy," and a little more than a month after another story alleging the singer was found passed out in Oscar-nominated actor Jeremy Renner's bed at his birthday party.

According Us Weekly's source, Renner relayed the story to friends at the Golden Globe Awards, saying, "I run up and open the door and I'm like, 'Um, hi. What are you doing?' She [Aguilera] just starts slurring. Her boyfriend was rubbing her back. Who comes to someone's birthday party that they don't know and gets in their bed? My parents were there!"

Another source said of the singer's behavior, "She acted like a fool. [Rutler] was shushing her and telling her to go to sleep." The source said Aguilera was "a mess."

Many close to the singer believe she is acting out because she has not yet dealt with her divorce from Jordan Bratman, who friends say has been remarkably supportive of Aguilera throughout her troubles. "She's not being honest with herself," the friend told PEOPLE. "She's saying she's this strong independent woman and she's fine, but what she's not stepping back to realize is that moving on after a divorce is not easy."

Aguilera's private behavior has seemingly, and sadly, been impacting her professional life as well. Because she is uniformly known as one of the best singers in the world, Aguilera has been performing 'The Star-Spangled Banner' at major sporting events for years, and in the past she has routinely delivered flawless takes on the national anthem. At this year's Super Bowl, however, she found herself in hot water after botching the lyrics.

Soon after, she released a statement to the Associated Press apologizing for the snafu, saying, "I got so caught up in the moment of the song that I lost my place. I can only hope that everyone could feel my love for this country and that the true spirit of its anthem still came through."

Then, just a few weeks later, at the end of an all-star tribute to Aretha Franklin at the Grammys, the singer, who in all fairness sounded fantastic during her performance, stumbled and was only able to stay on her feet by grabbing onto her mic stand.

While it seems like a minor accident, the kind of thing that could happen to anyone wearing a long gown and high heels, the stumble overshadowed Aguilera's performance and became a topic of conversation following the awards. The buzz from backstage at the Grammys, however, was far more disquieting.

"No one knows what's going on with her, but whatever it is, it isn't good," a Grammy insider, who was backstage at the event, told PopEater's Rob Shuter following the tumble. "She was acting very erratic backstage before her performance and wouldn't let anyone into her dressing room before the show began. Something is very wrong."

After a difficult 2010 that saw the singer divorce husband Jordan Bratman, cancel a planned summer tour after initial ticket sales proved dismal and watch her long-in-the-works album 'Bionic' bomb with both critics and fans, the only constant in her life has been Rutler. And while no one is suggesting that anyone is responsible for a 30-year-old woman other than herself, it's hard not to wonder if Rutler's influence has been a positive one. After all, barely four years ago, Aguilera was headlining the top-grossing tour by a female artist and earning raves from her peers for her live performances instead of sneers.

Music legend Patti Smith told Rolling Stone (via Open Salon) that Aguilera's stirring 2007 Grammy performance of James Brown's 'It's a Man's Man's Man's World' was "one of the best performances that I've ever seen ... I sat and watched it, and at the end, I just involuntarily leapt to my feet. It was amazing."

The superstar vocalist Smith praised is the Aguilera we all know and love. Let's hope this latest bit of trouble will open the singer's eyes to what really matters in her life and she takes the appropriate steps to get her professional and personal matters on track so she can get back to doing what she does best -- blowing the roof off arenas around the world with that one-in-a-million voice.

Tags: Christina Aguilera

Comments

(144)

Thursday 03 March

By sadie

Vote down Vote up Report this

Why are you all so mean? THis is a woman in pain. A woman who has given us wonderful performances over the years and now people just want to stomp on her while she is down? I hope she gets the help she needs and heals.

Tuesday 01 March

By john

Lowest Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

thats the way to be a parent and a singer hang out with trash and get arrested for being drunk .shes adding to her already sad life the skank just go away and never surface again skank skank !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By Brandnewbian

Highest Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

Child custody if it was a man acting that way. The wife would ask for full custody of their child and the husband would get limit or supervised custody. She needs to get her head out of her @ss. Maybe she needs to have her custodial rights challenged so she knows it’s not a fringe game.

By the_fool

She needs a "time out." To clear her head and face reality.

By Harlow

Excuse me, its the other way around shes bad for anyone...Get a life Christina! Its time for you to realize your finished. I hear they are hiring at IHOP

Wednesday 02 March

By Frank

This is a joke

By simpsonsimpmike

High Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

Throw Aggy and Lohan into the same cell. Why should hard working citizens pay for these millionaire lush crybabies?

By Lars Dolinski

Low Ranked Vote down Vote up Report this

You knew she was drunk because she sang the national anthem correctly.

By Michael

Wow, you guys are harsh!She messed up the National Anthem but she didn't burn the friggin flag!!! Give her a break. She's far from done,her pipes are incredible! Give her time and she'll be back kicking @ss in notime....Go Xtina!!!!!

Let's give her a break about screwing up the anthem, she was probably all dopped up, so she has an excuse.

By Rachel

This chick was, all along, a drinker. Just because she has a new man in her life, fingers should never be pointed at him.

Point the finger at HER. She is a grown woman with kids. She knows what the heck she is doing ... including leaving her poor exhusband in the dust.

Can't stand her. Never will.

Prove it

By Janet M.

Christina I am a fan of yours but, when i saw this it was a big SMH(Shaking My Head). But you need to clean up your act for many reasons.
1. For you handsome son
2. For yourself
3. For you career
4. For your fans out here
5. For all those haters that just hate and want to see you fail life.

All you have to do is clean up a little bit!!! and get back on track

By sway

Not unusual for a young woman to act up after a divorce. I did, and I used alcohol to numb the pain and put up a false front of happiness. The good thing is after awhile the pain goes away and you move on. I was lucky and got to go thru my grieving process in private, but when you are a celeb you don't get that privilege.
Even moving on with a new guy is a coping mechanism.
She is a talented singer, she has a set of pipes that most singers just dream about. I hope she is able to move on soon.

By shauntavious

who the hell is foll making a zoolander face?.

By common sense

They probably thought they were special and therefore chose to drink and drive. He's in it deep w/DUI charges, but she walked. It's hard to throw a rock at either of them though. How many people on here do the very same thing and Drink then Drive. There was no mention about what he actually blew on his test. My guess is it wasn't all that high. It only takes 1 1/2 drinks per hour to put one over the limit. Personally I think the limit is way to low. But when they lowered it I quit drinking. I mean it's no fun to sit home and drink and with the alternative being a DUI it was a done deal for me.

By kija

Maybe Brittany Spears should have a chat with her.

By lynn

She's a grown azz woman who's showing her behind. Dude is younger than she is. Are we going to see another Britney acting out again.

By Zero

Yeah, she sold 50 million CD's
but 49,999,998 were returned,
the other 2 are still on eBay

Page 2 of 8