By Ray Stern
Middle-aged Hollywood babe Virginia Madsen wants you to know how much Botox and and voting have in common.
"To Madsen, it is all about freedom of expression – whether you are in the voting booth, or the dermatologist’s office," says a press release from a PR firm hired by Allergan, the makers of Botox.
That's the message behind Madsen's effort -- bankrolled by Allergan and supported by the League of Women Voters -- to get more people to vote.
Consider this your warning for the inevitable "news reports" about this unlikely pair of subjects that's likely to soon grace local TV news morning shows: Madsen's coming to Phoenix to chat with news media on October 20, according to the release. CBS News featured Madsen's get-the-vote-out-shoot-Botox message back in July.
Now, it may seem to you that Botox is actually the opposite of freedom of expression: It works by deadening muscle, essentially freezing parts of the face into a wrinkle-free mask.
Botox spokeswoman Eileen Masciale says she understands people may see opposing metaphors about "expression" in Botox and voting. But the company wants people to know Botox doesn't cause people to "lose facial expression" -- as long as the treatments are done correctly by a knowledgeable doctor, she says.
Whether most Botox treatments are done right, Marciale couldn't say.
In this anxiety-laden election season, maybe there's another connection between Botox and voting:
Nausea is one of the most common side effects.
