14 DAY TRIAL // With the latest episode of TLC’s hit reality show My Strange Addiction, the world is introduced to Adam Guerra, a 31-year-old man from California whose addiction is Madonna, the singer also known as the Queen of Pop.
He estimates he spent about $175,000 (€154,255) so far feeding this addiction, almost half of which went on plastic surgery and the rest on getting exact replicas of the singer’s most iconic outfits.
Where does Adam end and Madonna begin?
Adam Guerra wouldn’t be the first man to spend a lot of money on plastic surgery to look like a female star, but he is probably one of the few to take it to such extremes. The work he’s had has completely changed his face, which he boasts is almost entirely made of plastic: he got fillers in the cheeks and Botox, and surgery on his chin and jawline.
In the preview video available below, he takes obvious pride in what he does, saying that Madonna “empowered” him because she is “the queen.”
That doesn’t sit well with his own mother, who is shown pleading with him because she wants Adam back: she doesn’t want him to lose himself in this character he’s taking so much pleasure in portraying.
From the same video, we see that she’s not the only person in his life to fear that: Adam’s long-distance boyfriend gives him an ultimatum to get his life straight, or he walks. Even one of Madonna’s backup dancers, who is now a life and dance coach, tells him that his addiction isn’t right, that he must take a step back and think where he ends and Madonna begins.
The good news is that, as per the video, Adam has managed to kick his “addiction” after the televised intervention: he’s sold off all his Madonna outfits, is done with the excessive makeup, and is focused now solely on being Adam.
My Strange Addiction, a freak show and a launching pad
However, before you break out the handkerchief for Adam, who is seen breaking down in tears in the video as he realizes the severity of his situation, you should probably know that this is exactly the type of television show that generates most rumors of being scripted.
In fact, just recently, after he taped this segment, Adam did a satellite interview with ITV (second video below), and he did it in character once more as Madonna, bragging about how he had this “gift” that he thought he should explore further.
The reality behind this particular program is that many of the people included on most recent episodes don’t have an “addiction” per se, but rather a hobby they turn a profit from. Adam is an impersonator and, as he explains to ITV, he’s been doing it for 12 years.
Dressing up as someone and doing paid gigs does not equal an addiction, even if it occasionally interferes with their personal life.
These days, My Strange Addiction is just a random collection of allegedly made-up freak stories and various kinds of entertainers looking for a new platform to promote themselves.