Lindsay Lohan at a probation violation hearing in November: There are still ways the struggling star could turn her troubled life to her advantage, says Kate Ward at Entertainment Weekly.

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hen news first broke that Lindsay Lohan would pose nude for Playboy, "it seemed a desperate act for a once-promising star," says Kate Ward at Entertainment Weekly. But after the struggling actress' cover shot leaked earlier this week, Lohan's name rocketed to the top of internet search lists, and she once again dominated water cooler banter. For once, Lohan's prominence wasn't because of a court date over her bad behavior. Maybe posing nude wasn't such a bad career move after all. In fact, says Ward, the Playboy cover could launch "an entirely new career" for the floundering star. Lohan should take a lesson from the cast of Jersey Shore —  audiences can't get enough of their "booze-fueled disastrous antics" — and embark on a career as a "professional train wreck." After all, "it seems less and less likely that we'll ever see her reemerge as an in-demand, A-list movie star. She still could, however, reemerge as an in-demand, D-list star." Here, an excerpt:

If the past 10 years of television has proven anything, it's that Americans love train wrecks as much as they love their freedom and Baconnaise. It's why The Osbournes revolutionized television. It's why The Bachelor is entering its 16th season. It's why Paris Hilton was a tabloid cover girl before she did anything at all…

…[Lohan] continues to be a fascinating figure to audiences — love her or hate her, at least you feel something for her. We might be seeing more than we ever have of Lohan in Playboy, but should she decide to be just as revealing about her personal life — with a sense of humor about her image in tow — we might just start laughing with her, instead of at her.

Read the entire article at Entertainment Weekly.