Famous actress and talk-show host Whoopi Goldberg has revealed her struggle with cocaine addiction and navigating a culture of drug use in 80s Hollywood.
In line with Goldberg, she experienced a jarring moment in a Manhattan hotel, which influenced her decision to interrupt free from drug use.
Article continues below commercial
Whoopi Goldberg’s Cocaine Addiction
In her upcoming memoir, “Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me,” Goldberg opens up about her past struggle with cocaine addiction.
“I had stayed pretty far-off from drugs, apart from pot, after getting cleaned up within the early 70s,” Goldberg wrote in her memoir.
Nevertheless, despite her commitment to staying away from drugs, Goldberg revealed that she found herself faced with a unique meaning of “recreational drug use” within the 80s Hollywood and Recent York scene.
“I used to be invited to parties where I used to be greeted on the door with a bowl of Quaaludes from which I could pick what I wanted,” the Oscar winner recalled, per Page Six. “Lines of cocaine were laid across tables and loo counters for the taking.”
Article continues below commercial
Goldberg painted an image of a “relaxed” atmosphere as everyone “partook” in drug use as they knew that the house of a “big-time producer or actor” would never be raided by police.
She also noted the idea that as a widely accessible substance, cocaine seemed harmless to her, and she or he initially felt she could “handle” it. For a couple of yr, Goldberg shared that she managed to hide her drug use and maintain her skilled commitments.
Article continues below commercial
Whoopi Goldberg Recounts The Moment She Broke Free Of Her Cocaine Addiction
In her memoir, Goldberg recounts the harrowing depths of her cocaine addiction. She vividly describes hallucinations, similar to seeing a dangerous creature under her bed, which led her to immobilize herself in fear for 24 hours.
“So I didn’t move away from bed for 24 hours,” she shared. “That form of sh-t doesn’t end pretty. There’s only so long an individual can hold their bladder.”
As her addiction escalated, Â the actress disclosed that she experienced a “slap within the face moment” in a Manhattan hotel room, where a startled housekeeper discovered her amid drug use in a closet.
Article continues below commercial
She Saw Her Reflection In A Mirror With Cocaine Smeared On Her Face
Goldberg shared that as she stood up to clarify to the housekeeper that it was her room, she was confronted along with her reflection within the mirror smeared with cocaine.
After the incident, Goldberg said she was resolved to interrupt free from the grip of medication and considers herself lucky that she was “in a position to stop using drugs quickly.”
“I knew I’d need to change out my friends and switch down invitations but I could do this,” she wrote. “I didn’t need to die.”
Article continues below commercial
The Actress Plans To Leave Her $60 Million Fortune To Her Daughter
In a candid moment on “The View,” Goldberg disclosed her decision regarding her estimated $60 million fortune, revealing that her 50-year-old daughter, Alexandrea Martin, will inherit “the whole lot” upon her passing.
Reflecting on fellow celebrity Jeff Goldblum’s stance on not wanting his children to depend on his wealth by not helping them “row their boats,” the EGOT star humorously remarked, “Well, you are gonna be doing it for them for some time because your kids are very young! I mean, you are not cutting them out now, are you?”
The “Star Trek” alum then questioned how far parents should go in guiding their “kids to search out their path?” citing examples of celebrities like Ashton Kutcher and Gordon Ramsay, who’ve expressed similar intentions of not leaving substantial inheritances for his or her kids.
“Yeah, okay, that is what the courts are for!” the 68-year-old quipped, adding: “Considered one of the good answers is children learn by what they see. My mother worked her behind off, and in order that’s why I feel the way in which I feel, and I’m leaving my kid the whole lot that I actually have!”
Article continues below commercial
Whoopi Goldberg Recalls How Her Mother Lost Her Memory After Electroshock Therapy
In a recent interview with People magazine ahead of the discharge of her memoir, Goldberg recounted her mother’s mental breakdown and the electroshock therapy she underwent, which erased memories, including those of Goldberg and her late brother, Clyde.
Reflecting on a conversation along with her mother, Emma Harris, later in life, Goldberg learned her mother didn’t recognize her upon leaving the hospital.
“My mother, at one point once I got older … said, ‘Can I let you know a secret?’ I used to be like, ‘Sure,'” Goldberg told the news outlet. “She said, ‘I didn’t know who you were once I got out of the hospital.’ It’s like, ‘I’m sorry, what? I’m sorry, what?’ She said, ‘Yeah, I had no idea who you were. I just knew I never wanted to return to that hospital. So I needed to do the whole lot I could. In the event that they said the sky was green, and I could see it wasn’t green, and it was blue, I’d say, ‘Yes, the sky is green.’ ‘Cause I never wanted it again.'”
Goldberg expressed disbelief at her mother’s decades-long silence about this painful secret, noting: “I said to her, ‘And no one knew. You didn’t tell anybody.'”
She added, “I said, ‘So that you carried this for 40 years?’ She said, ‘Well, what else was I going to do?'”
Article continues below commercial
Goldberg’s mother eventually passed away on August 29, 2010, after affected by a stroke.