It seems that a new celebrity entering rehab for drug, alcohol addiction and suicidal urges are a weekly headline these days. Even celebrities succumbing to their addictions, while awful — is less of a shock than it should be. Fortunately, there have been a number of celebrities who have overcome their drug dependency and not only lived to tell about it, but became better because of it.
Here, we highlight a few Black celebrities who have been open about overcoming their struggles and the steps they took to triumph over addiction.
Wendy Williams
Wendy Williams has long been forthcoming about her addiction to cocaine in the 90s and early aughts, lasting for nearly a decade. In her Lifetime documentary, she stated that her use began in the early days of her radio career when she needed to stay awake during her grueling overnight shift. Fortunately, she shared that it took her four days to kick the cocaine habit cold turkey and stayed clean for many years.
In recent news, Wendy Williams has been publicly addressing her husband Kevin Hunter’s infidelity, filing for divorce from her, and impregnating his mistress which led to Wendy’s dependency on alcohol. As a result, she’d been seeking counsel and living at a sober house, for several months. In the documentary, she detailed that the facility enforced strict anti-trigger rules that included no cell phones, a curfew, bedtime, and a healthy recommendation. Since leaving, she has stated that she’s getting regular therapy and has since kicked the habit.
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Flavor Flav
William Jonathan Drayton, Jr. AKA Flava Flav discussed in his 2011 memoir, Flavor Flav: The Icon The Memoir, his struggles with addiction. He called his addiction “embarrassing” and stated that moving to LA saved his life and gave him purpose.
In 1993, Flav was charged with attempted murder and imprisoned for 90 days for shooting at his neighbor. Later that year, Flav was charged with domestic violence, and cocaine and marijuana charges. His family performed an intervention, and he checked into the Betty Ford Center for an addiction to crack cocaine.
The Weeknd
The ‘Can’t Feel My Face’ singer previously spoke about his drug use in a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone and how he handled the struggle.
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“I never needed detox or anything. But I was addicted in the sense of “F*ck, I don't want to spend this day without getting high”,’ noting, ‘Like, '08 to 2010 –those are my hazy years.”
A year later, the Canadian crooner told The Guardian newspaper that drugs were ‘a crutch’ for him in the past.
“There were songs on my first record that were seven minutes long, rambling – whatever thoughts I was having when I was under the influence at the time,’ he said. ‘I can't see myself doing that now.”
Columbus Short
Short spoke about his cocaine addiction in a 2014 interview with Access Hollywood. He stated that drugs played a role in his firing from the hit show "Scandal". A few years later, he told PEOPLE Magazine, “To be honest with you, I struggle with medicating with alcohol, I think, and that’s a real truth. I think that deserves more looking into. If I want to be truthfully honest, I think dealing with the stress of the situations that I’ve been going through, medicating with anything, I think, is dangerous because it becomes a crutch.”
During a 2017 interview with Wendy Williams, he confirmed his drug addiction, where he confirmed that he was "doing a lot of coke," during his time on "Scandal". He even confirmed that he had an inkling that his former Scandal co-stars knew of his drug problem. In fact, he mentioned that the show's leading lady, Kerry Washington, confronted him privately on a few occasions, urging him to "pull it together."
Since his departure, he’s sought treatment and has seemingly kept clean since then.
Kid Cudi
In 2010, Cudi shared that he began using cocaine just to get through the stress that comes with sudden fame. “I started doing cocaine to get through interviews, ’cause people wanted to know a lot about my personal life and I wasn’t prepared for a 60 Minutes interview every time. Doing bumps I was able to get through the day, but then I would smoke weed to calm me down—it was the only way I could get through the day without people noticing I was doing it,” he said. Just recently, the star opened up about getting help for his struggle with mental health.
In 2016, he revealed in an emotional letter to fans Tuesday that he checked himself into rehab after battling “depression and suicidal urges.” “It's been difficult for me to find the words to what I'm about to share with you because I feel ashamed,” the rapper wrote on Facebook.
A few years later, in a 2019 Billboard interview, he said that he was reborn during his time at rehab and had a renewed sense of life.
