Just days before being prosecuted over a drug-related case on Cát Bà Island, Vietnamese singer and actress Miu Lê was still appearing on social media in the cheerful, energetic way audiences had known for years.
For nearly two decades, Miu Lê built a reputation as one of Vietnam’s more private and relatively scandal-free female celebrities.
Born in 1991, she succeeded in both music and film while avoiding the constant controversies that often dominate Vietnamese entertainment news. Unlike many entertainers who rely heavily on online drama to remain relevant, she maintained an image that was disciplined, approachable and largely removed from tabloid culture.
She had also publicly spoken several times about her Christian beliefs — something still relatively uncommon in Vietnam’s mainstream entertainment industry.
That is why the scandal shocked so many people.
According to investigators, the singer was discovered with a group allegedly using illegal narcotics at a resort on Cát Bà Island in northern Vietnam. Police said she tested positive for methamphetamine, ketamine and MDMA before later being prosecuted on charges related to organizing illegal drug use.
For many Vietnamese audiences, the shock was not only about the criminal allegations themselves.
It was the unsettling realization that even celebrities who seemed emotionally stable and morally grounded might actually be quietly collapsing behind the scenes.
A growing pattern of celebrity scandals
Miu Lê is far from the first Vietnamese celebrity caught in a drug-related case in recent years.
Actor Hữu Tín was sentenced to prison for organizing drug use at his apartment. Model Andrea Aybar, known locally as An Tây, was arrested during a narcotics investigation in Ho Chi Minh City. Singer Chi Dân and several influencers were also detained during raids linked to private drug parties.
On the surface, these are criminal cases.
But beneath them lies another issue Vietnamese society is only beginning to discuss more openly: the growing mental health crisis inside the entertainment industry.
Fame without rest
Vietnam’s fast-growing social media economy has transformed entertainers into nonstop online personalities competing constantly for attention and relevance.
For years, the public viewed celebrities as people who “have everything” — money, fame, admiration and glamorous lifestyles. Yet more Vietnamese entertainers are now openly discussing depression, anxiety, insomnia and long-term burnout.
Young singers such as Lâm Bảo Ngọc and LyHan have spoken about emotional exhaustion and psychological instability. Rapper Karik has repeatedly discussed his struggles with depression and loneliness. Singer Hương Tràm once revealed that she moved to the United States partly because the pressures of fame and social media had severely damaged her mental health.
These confessions are becoming increasingly common in Vietnamese show business.
The biggest reason may be the way the industry now operates in the age of social media. In the past, celebrities mainly faced pressure from television and newspapers. Today, they live under nonstop public scrutiny.
Everything can become a controversy: appearance, relationships, livestream behavior, online engagement, or even facial expressions on social media videos.
In the age of TikTok and Facebook, celebrities are rarely allowed to disappear and rest. Algorithms demand constant visibility. Even a few days of declining engagement can threaten advertising contracts, television invitations and commercial relevance.
In modern Vietnamese entertainment, celebrities no longer sell only music or films. They also sell their private lives, emotions and ability to remain permanently visible online.
Fame is no longer simply a profession. It has become a nonstop performance.
The loneliness behind millions of followers
That environment leaves many entertainers emotionally exhausted.
A celebrity may be surrounded daily by fans, managers and media attention while still lacking a safe space to be emotionally vulnerable. Inside an industry driven heavily by competition and image management, many artists gradually lose the ability to live honestly with their own emotions.
Many Vietnamese celebrities today are forced to appear emotionally resilient and constantly available to the public, even while mentally falling apart behind their phone screens.
The fact that Miu Lê had publicly spoken about her Christian beliefs also gave the scandal a uniquely painful dimension for some audiences. Not because religious people are expected to be immune from psychological collapse, but because the case revealed how even those who appear spiritually grounded can quietly fall into emotional exhaustion.
In a society where personal worth is increasingly measured through views, virality and online attention, many people no longer know where their value truly comes from once the spotlight fades.
When drugs become part of nightlife culture
Inside parts of modern nightlife culture, drugs no longer carry the old public image associated with heroin addiction or street crime. Substances such as ketamine and MDMA are increasingly linked to beach parties, EDM clubs, luxury villas, and “stress relief” culture among affluent urban youth.
The most dangerous aspect may be the growing sense of normalization.
For some individuals, drugs may become a way to temporarily escape emotional emptiness and chronic exhaustion.
The hidden mental health crisis inside Vietnamese showbiz
Vietnam’s entertainment industry is increasingly shaped by nonstop visibility, online pressure and public scrutiny. Celebrities are expected to remain emotionally resilient and inspirational at all times, even while struggling privately behind the scenes.
The situation has started to resemble some of the darker aspects of South Korea’s entertainment industry, where extreme public pressure and cyberbullying have, in some cases, been linked to celebrity breakdowns, drug scandals and suicides.
Yet Vietnam still lacks strong mental health support systems for entertainers. Therapy and psychological treatment continue to carry social stigma, while many public figures fear that admitting emotional struggles could damage their careers or public image.
As a result, many artists suffer silently until emotional exhaustion turns into public collapse.
Of course, the public has every right to feel disappointed when celebrities violate the law, especially in drug-related cases.
But if these scandals are viewed only as isolated criminal incidents, Vietnam may overlook the much larger mental health crisis quietly spreading behind the entertainment industry’s glamorous image.
Because behind the glamor and viral fame, many celebrities are not searching for excitement at all — but simply for a way to survive the emotional exhaustion of lives permanently lived on display.
*The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of UCA News.
