Whoopi Goldberg Details Cocaine Addiction In New Memoir: ‘I Didn’t Want To Die’
Whoopi Goldberg recently revealed that she struggled with a serious addiction in her upcoming memoir, 'Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me.'
'The View' moderator explained how high-society enabled her addiction and redefined the meaning of "recreational drug use" in the 80's — despite admitting that she'd been to rehab before reaching stardom. The memoir details her serious cocaine habit, which she thought she "could handle" but was exacerbated by the entertainment industry.
"I had stayed pretty far away from drugs, except for pot, after getting cleaned up in the early 70s," the 'Sister Act' actress wrote, saying "everyone partook."
"I was invited to parties where I was greeted at the door with a bowl of Quaaludes from which I could pick what I wanted. Lines of cocaine were laid across tables and bathroom counters for the taking," she recalled.
According to the 68-year-old, party animals never expected to have encounters with police, explaining how people's attitudes were "very relaxed," seeing as though authorities wouldn't raid the home of a "big-time producer."
Goldberg said that she could handle cocaine because it didn't appear to be dangerous, and seemed like everyone had access to it at the time, per Page Six.
After about a year, Goldberg admits that she felt like the powdered drug started "to kick her a*s," saying she started to "hallucinate" and at one point believed there was a "creature" under her bed that would attack her if she got up.
"So I didn't move out of bed for twenty-four hours," she wrote. "That kind of s**t doesn't end pretty. There's only so long a person can hold their bladder."
The TV host explained she had her "slap in the face" moment in a Manhattan hotel, when she was caught sitting in a closet while using the drug. A housekeeper opened the closet door and screamed. Goldberg then caught sight of herself in a mirror, and saw that her face was smeared with cocaine.
Whoopi Goldberg, born Caryn Elaine Johnson, claimed she knew in order to control herself she'd need to "change out her friends" and "turn down invitations," but she could do that because she "didn't want to die."
Per Page Six, her memoir hits shelves on May 7.
