Lindsay Lohan's Mother Dina on Sheen's Advice, Lindsay's 'Lifelong Struggle'

Feb. 18, 2011 — -- Dina Lohan, the mother of Hollywood starlet Lindsay Lohan, says her daughter has her own advice for actor Charlie Sheen: "Just get help."

The scandal-plagued Sheen made headlines earlier this week when he called into DirecTV's "The Dan Patrick Show" to pass on some words of wisdom to the similarly scandal-plagued Lindsay Lohan, saying "Work on your impulse control ... just try and think things through a little bit before you do them."

Asked about Sheen, Dina Lohan told George Stephanopolous in an interview on "Good Morning America" this morning that, "Lindsay took his advice and she gave him advice as well...just get help, you know."

Earlier this week, Sheen also told ABC's Andrea Canning he had advice for Dina Lohan herself.

"It's never too late to get a fresh start. Quit believing that losing is an option. Embrace what you see in the mirror," he said.

Dina Lohan told "Good Morning America" that she loves Sheen's show "Two and a Half Men" and believes he's a talented actor, but added that she doesn't know why people compare him with her daughter.

"He's been in the business a lot longer than my daughter and he's from Hollywood," she said.

Dina also spoke with Chris Cuomo in an interview airing on "20/20" tonight.

Despite Lindsay Lohan's most recent stint in rehab, Dina told Cuomo that her daughter still faces "a lifelong struggle with addiction."

"I believe [that Lindsay doesn't drink anymore], and I think it's gonna be a lifelong struggle with addiction. But I think she's gonna be okay," Dina Lohan told Chris Cuomo in an exclusive interview with "20/20."

Watch the interview tonight on "20/20" at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.

She was once the most promising child star in America, but at just 24 years old, Lindsay has become the poster child for Hollywood vice, known more for mug shots than movies.

"She's a young girl struggling. You know, she's not perfect. ... She's learning as she goes, but she's learning under a microscope, so I can't even imagine how that is," Dina Lohan said.

Most recently, the tabloid microscope zoomed in on a jewelry store in Los Angeles, where security cameras captured Lindsay walking out with an expensive necklace on Jan. 22.

Now, Lindsay Lohan faces charges of felony grand theft. But she and Dina both insist it's all a simple misunderstanding. After trying on the necklace, they say, Lindsay forgot to return it.

Dina Lohan said she could "absolutely not" imagine her daughter being a thief.

For years, Lindsay Lohan and her mother have been tabloid twins; Lindsay, the child star gone wrong, and Dina, the so-called "worst parent ever," enabling her daughter's bad behavior for personal gain.

"I can't always fight what they're saying or thinking of me. And I'm -- I'm certainly not that person. So when people say, 'Oh, she's living off her children or her kids, or we're all in this business.' I grew up in this business. That's what I know," said Dina Lohan.

Dina Lohan is a single mother of four and a self-described "lifelong entertainer." She says she has been aware of Lindsay's problems and tried to help her through them since the very beginning.

"I knew early on, I just didn't tell anyone about it. It was a personal situation," she said.

Dina Lohan says the trouble began almost immediately after her daughter moved to Los Angeles in 2004. At just 18, Lindsay was living alone and running with a fast crowd.

"I saw it visually, what was happening. You know, I'm around my children. I was around Lindsay a lot, and I saw what was happening. I grabbed the bull by the horns and tried to get her help immediately."

Dina Lohan says she enrolled Lindsay at a California rehab center in January 2007.

"You know, you have to be ready as an individual. It's not just gonna' happen. You have to hit your own bottom," she said.

And Lindsay had a long way to go. Within months, she was busted for drunk driving in a Beverly Hills car wreck. In a four-year blizzard of bizarre behavior, she tallied two more car accidents, three short jail terms for probation violations, and four stints in rehab. Her movie roles dried up, but the tabloid headlines exploded.

"I never thought it would be this -- the media would be so crazy. I really never thought it would get to this level," said Dina Lohan. "It's been really hard on my family, harder than anything."

Just two months ago, Lindsay completed her fifth stint in rehab. Her time at the Betty Ford Center was scarred by an alleged violent argument with a staffer that Dina says was blown out of proportion. Dina Lohan says Lindsay has now emerged, finally, as a woman on the mend.

"I really think she was at a maturation level that she now understands what she needs to get from it. And she grasps that."

Watch the interview tonight on "20/20" at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.