Photo: REX USA/Beverly News/Rex.There's much to love about Robert Downey Jr. — besides being a respected actor, a hilarious Iron Man/Tony Stark, and a generally good-natured guy, he also has a personal story of struggle and triumph that really resonates. RDJ dealt with addiction for years, and since then, has become a sort of Hollywood poster child for willpower, recovery, and work ethic. So, it's particularly sad to see that his 20-year-old son may be at the beginning of a similar cycle.
Indio Falconer Downey (son of the actor and his first wife, Deborah Falconer) was arrested in West Hollywood, CA, yesterday afternoon, after a car in which he was a passenger was pulled over around 2 p.m. Officers reportedly noticed a passenger smoking a pipe of some kind and upon searching allegedly found cocaine on Indio's person. It's unclear who else was in the car and whether they were arrested as well. Indio posted his $10,000 bail and was released early this morning. According to California law, he could serve between 30 and 180 days or more, depending on how much cocaine he had on him at the time of arrest.
Downey gave the below statement to TMZ this morning:
“Unfortunately there's a genetic component to addiction and Indio has likely inherited it. Also, there is a lot of family support and understanding, and we’re all determined to rally behind him and help him become the man he's capable of being...We’re grateful to the Sheriff’s department for their intervention, and believe Indio can be another recovery success story instead of a cautionary tale.”