Eva Mendes, who quietly admitted herself into treatment at the Cirque Lodge in Utah in January, admits that she's still "sensitive on the subject" of substance abuse problems.
The actress snapped at a reporter for Interview magazine who joked that Alcoholics Anonymous would have to be changed to Alcoholics Unanimous because of the prevalence of problems in Hollywood.
"I'm not making jokes, because people die from this stuff," she says in the interview, which hits newsstands next week. "So, honestly, I think it's a bit tacky that you made a joke. I've got to be honest."
Mendes, 34, had entered treatment for "personal issues," her rep said, amid reports of drug use and body issues.
"There are so many lies out there regarding my recent trip to Cirque Lodge," she says. "But I don't care what people think. I just don't care. So I will neither confirm nor deny.
"I'm not a spokesperson for any kind of substance-abuse organization," she adds.
"I'm proud of people who have the determination and the fearlessness to actually go and face their demons and get better," she says. "This is a life or death situation."
Mendes also says being a Cuban-American actress has helped her career " but Hollywood executives are slow to realize that ethnic diversity is "the future" of America.
"We are the future," she says. "I mean, we're all just mixing together that much more. We are the future in that sense. I don't mean Latinos, I just mean ethnic diversity."
Though Mendes " who stars in the upcoming films The Women (September) and The Spirit (December) " thinks "being a woman in Hollywood is a big enough challenge" because of "the lack of roles," she says she is often passed over for roles.
"What makes it frustrating is when a director or a studio head doesn't see me for the same part that they'll see, let's say, Drew Barrymore for," Mendes says.
"Drew's a great friend of mine," Mendes adds. "But it's like, 'No, we want more of an American type of girl.' And it's like, American has opened up. I'm an American girl, born and raised."
But Mendes doesn't consider it a challenge and thinks it's harder for Asian stars: "We have so many Asian girls in this country, and they're so not represented up on the screen. via
