Filmed by own daughter: When David Hasselhoff was confronted with the truth

The scandalous video went around the world: David Hasselhoff is drunk on the floor and tries to eat a burger. 15 years ago today, a desperate act saved the life of “The Hoff”.

“Sometimes I get to a point where I don’t want to be David Hasselhoff anymore,” said the man, who can be described with a clear conscience not only as a singer, actor and megastar of the eighties and nineties, but also as a cult figure of pop culture . Hasselhoff himself has his own theory of what happens when you become famous: “You stay the same, but everyone around you changes. (…) People don’t know who I really am. They only know what they read or watch it on TV, they don’t know what happens when the cameras are off.”

For many years, David Hasselhoff lived life in the fast lane. Even if the American, who turns 70 this year, is now considered entertainment trash by many because he starred in a few lousy films and had some very bizarre performances, no one can take away from him what he has achieved: As Michael Knight in the series “Knight Rider” he wrote television history. In his role as lifeguard Mitch Buchannon he was seen in over 240 countries, more than a billion people have seen his hit and body show series “Baywatch”.

Added to this is the highly commercial success as a musician, especially in Austria and Germany, as well as countless TV appearances and shows. But even those who live life in the fast lane come home at the end of a long day, which often isn’t. Countless hotel rooms. All the pressure from the public, your own restlessness – at some point you pay a price for everything.

The crash of a TV icon

Hasselhoff himself once said that he started drinking so that he could learn his screenplays better. There is always the fear of failing, of not being good enough. As Herbert Grönemeyer once sang, “alcohol is a paramedic in need” seems to many, not just artists. And the glass in the evening will soon no longer be just a bottle, but an addiction. As with almost every addiction, you usually recognize it – too late.

And so, in 2007, that famous scandalous video was made that shows him completely drunk on the floor of a hotel room trying to eat a burger. The pictures of the TV icon’s alcohol crash went around the world. Not only was David Hasselhoff physically on the floor of this room, he was on the floor himself, mentally and emotionally, he was just the shell of a burned-out teenage idol.

Filming the shocking scenes was none other than his daughter Taylor-Ann, who, contrary to many rumours, never intended the video to go public and go viral. Because behind the camera was simply the act of desperation of a child, wanting to finally shake up the addicted father. It is not uncommon for family members to suffer from the consequences of the dependency of their loved ones.

Tough confrontation with alcohol addiction

In fact, it often has to get so far that you are confronted with your addiction in a tough way. Because what the alcoholic can do very well is build up an illusionary world and set it up in a lie, according to the motto: I can stop drinking at any time. You hear that again and again from people who have their first glass of wine at noon and often have two whole bottles down by the evening.

The actress Jenny Elvers, for example, was an alcoholic for years before her facade collapsed like a house of cards during a TV appearance on September 17, 2012. “Elvers full of stars on Bettina Tietjen’s red sofa”, was the headline in the media at the time, among other things.

Was David Hasselhoff uncomfortable that the whole world knew how alcoholic he was? Definitely. But thanks to the video, he realized that he had “a problem” that he “has to deal with (…)”. Much has been said, written and ridiculed about the father of two daughters over the years. He lost his grip on reality through fame. Others think he wouldn’t be able to cope if he wasn’t as intense in public as he was at his wedding.

In addition, he now accepts the most embarrassing film roles and is still addicted – to the limelight. But “what the newspapers write about me is often not true,” says the “Baywatch” actor, who is also grateful for the tragic and crazy moments in his life. “I can always laugh at her later.”

Fall down, get up, keep going

“I’m doing my thing and living my life, I’m not defending myself. I have a motto: God, give me serenity! This is from Alcoholics Anonymous. (…) You have to realize that life is never fair. You you’re going to fall, you’re going to hurt yourself. But you have to get up and keep going.” And: “If you don’t have a sense of humor in life, you can’t laugh about yourself and your mistakes, what’s left then?” says the refined star in the RBB documentary “Being David Hasselhoff”.

“The Hoff” wasn’t the first and won’t be the last star to be thrown off course by the spotlight’s glare. The bottom line is that life at the limit is just a life with the same traps, dark valleys and hurdles as any other. Ultimately, it is family and friends who usually lend a helping hand to those who have fallen. Hasselhoff found such a person in his daughter, who gathered all her courage and showed her father this startling video. The fact that the whole world saw it is hardly relevant today, or as the sober alcoholic would say: “get up, carry on”.