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Tag: sober celebs

  • Rob Lowe: My Sex Tape Helped Me Get Sober

    Rob Lowe: My Sex Tape Helped Me Get Sober

    Lowe discussed his sex tape scandal and journey to sobriety on The Jess Cagle Show.

    Actor Rob Lowe said that a 1988 sex tape that he made with an underage girl was one of the best things that’s happened to him in life, because it prompted him to get sober. 

    “What Am I Doing With My life?”

    Lowe made the tape with a 16-year-old, who he says he did not know was underage. When Lowe was sued by the girl’s mother, his career was disrupted. However, the tape and the ensuing scandal made Lowe, then 24, take another look at his behavior, he said on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show.

    “It’s one of the reasons why I got sober. I, like, woke up one day and was like, ‘What am I doing with my life?’” Lowe said, according to USA Today. “People talk about it, I go, ‘I think it’s the best thing that ever happened to me.’ Honestly, I do, ’cause it got me sober. Sober got me married. I’ve been married 29 years, and I have two great sons. I don’t think any of that happens without going through that scandal. I really don’t.”

    Celebrating 29 Years Of Sobriety

    Earlier this year, Lowe celebrated his sobriety on Instagram. 

    In March, he wrote, “Today I celebrate 29 years of sobriety. Thank you to all those who have inspired me on this wonderful, challenging and life-changing journey. If you, or someone you know, are struggling with alcohol or addiction, there CAN be a future of hope, health and happiness. And it comes one day at a time. #recovery #ItWorks.”

    In the Jess Cagle interview, Lowe joked that he didn’t take advantage of the tape like he could today. 

    “The problem was, I didn’t make any money off of it like everybody does now. I was too stupid,” he said. 

    It’s not the first time he has joked about the tape. In March he told Marc Maron, “The real (expletive) up was that I didn’t wait 20 years later to do it where it would have helped my career. 1 billion percent ahead of the curve.”

    Demi Moore Was His Sober Role Model

    While the scandal from the sex tape might have prompted Lowe to get into recovery, having sober role models was important in helping him see that recovery was possible. Earlier this month Lowe said that Demi Moore inspired him to see that life in recovery was possible. 

    Speaking on The View, Lowe said that Moore, “was the first person I ever knew who got sober. She was a huge inspiration to me. It was the ‘80s, we were all doing our thing. I just remember thinking, ‘If that girl can get sober, anybody can.’”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Artie Lange Speaks On Addiction, Legal Troubles In Comeback Tour

    Artie Lange Speaks On Addiction, Legal Troubles In Comeback Tour

    In the opening show, Lange touched on past relationships, Todd Bridges, and having a brand of heroin named after him.

    Comedian Artie Lange is on a stand-up comeback tour after completing rehab and being released in September. During a recent show, he opened up about some of his past experiences with drugs and got real when it came to the addiction disorder that has dogged him for decades.

    Lange posted on his Twitter account on September 10 announcing that he was back home and feeling good.

    “Great to be home!” he wrote. “7 months 14 days sober but one day at a time. Lots of new stories to tell. Will announce some new tour dates on Friday. Thanks for the support. Love you all.”

    The First Stop Of The Tour

    Radar Online outlined the most notable moments from the first show of Lange’s tour on October 18, in which the former Howard Stern Show co-host touched on his past relationships, life in prison, and how drugs have affected his life.

    “I had three fiancées who left me because of heroin. Heroin saved me a lot of money,” Lange joked. “Divorce would’ve been way more expensive than the drugs.”

    Lange was in a relationship with Dana Cironi from 2002 to 2006 and was with Adrienne Ockrymiek from 2009 to 2014.

    He also joked about his former use of crack cocaine and “burning bridges.”

    “I burned all the bridges you can burn in show business, that’s why I’m in Bridgeport. I was in the crack house recently, I was trying to light a crack pipe and I burned Todd Bridges.”

    A fellow actor, Bridges struggled with addiction to crack in his 20s. He entered rehab in 1992 and has been sober ever since.

    They Named Heroin After Him

    Later, Lange treated audiences to a story about being sold a bag of heroin that was named after him.

    “Here’s the f—ked up thing, on the marquee where I was performing, they had my name spelled wrong. On the bag, it was spelled perfectly!” he said. As funny as it might have been, Lange didn’t feel all that good about the way he was being admired. “My name was on poison dude. Kids are taking this… I guess I am a famous scumbag!”

    At the end of the show, Lange got serious, advising his audience to avoid the difficult life that he’s had to struggle through thanks largely to addiction while also showing his appreciation to the fans who have stuck with him through the bad times.

    “The fact that you guys come out on a Friday to support me means everything to me. Tell your kids to never touch drugs.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Miley Cyrus: "I'm Four Months Sober"

    Miley Cyrus: "I'm Four Months Sober"

    The pop star took to Instagram live with her big news.

    Despite the end of her long time on-again, off-again relationship with husband Liam Hemsworth, singer Miley Cyrus is sober and “radiating.”

    “I’m four months sober. It’s the best I’ve ever felt. I’m radiating,” the “Wrecking Ball” singer shared on Instagram live on Sunday (Oct. 20).

    A Marriage Ends

    Cyrus and Hemsworth separated in August, and soon after, Hemsworth filed for divorce citing “irreconcilable differences.”

    According to TMZ, Miley “tried valiantly to save the marriage” but could not reconcile the fact that “Liam was drinking a lot and using certain drugs, and she wanted no part of it, especially since she struggled with substance abuse in the past.”

    However, Hemsworth’s side denies this narrative, instead accusing Miley of covering up the fact that it was her infidelity that ended the marriage.

    Miley, who rose to fame as the Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana, gained a reputation for partying hard, with hits like “We Can’t Stop.”

    “We Can’t Stop” was released in 2013 and attracted speculation that she was singing about partying with Molly (MDMA) and cocaine. But she’s calmed down since then, she says.

    Brief Stint Of Sobriety In 2017

    Cyrus said she was “evolving” in a 2017 interview with Billboard. “I haven’t smoked weed in three weeks, which is the longest I’ve ever [gone without it.] I’m not doing drugs, I’m not drinking, I’m completely clean right now! That was just something that I wanted to do,” she said at the time.

    But her mom Tish Cyrus got her smoking again. “My mom got me back on it,” Miley said last year. Still, her relationship with weed has some clear boundaries. “When I’m just working, I don’t think I function at my highest, most intelligent, most being-able-to-be-as-aware-and-as-present, so I don’t smoke when I work,” she told The Sun last December.

    A New Relationship

    Fans are now buzzing about Miley’s new relationship with Australian singer and long-time friend Cody Simpson. The two appear to be on the same page in regard to partying—they’d rather wake up early for yoga, according to HollywoodLife “sources.” 

    “We both met back in the day when we were partying a lot and had a lot of fun then, but now we found each other in a space where we’re not partying, working real hard, and it just keeps things healthy,” Cody told HollywoodLife at a recent event.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Elton John: Sobriety Lit The "Pilot Light In My Soul"

    Elton John: Sobriety Lit The "Pilot Light In My Soul"

    “I so wish I’d never taken a drug. But in the end, unless I’d have got sober, I wouldn’t be the person I am today,” John told CBS News. 

    Legendary singer/songwriter Sir Elton John told CBS News that he wished he’d never taken drugs, but also acknowledged that he would never have achieved the personal happiness he has attained since gaining sobriety 29 years ago, including marriage, children, Academy and Tony Awards, and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

    New Autobiography

    John, who was promoting his recent autobiography Me, said that his dependency on drugs and alcohol at the height of his fame in the 1970s and 1980s “nearly destroyed his soul,” but discovered by admitting that he needed help, he was able to reignite the “pilot light in [his] soul.” 

    Speaking with CBS correspondent Tracy Smith, John recalled the first time he used cocaine, which took place in 1974. The experience made him physically sick, but as John noted, “I wanted to join in so much and be part of the gang, [so] I went back and asked for another line.”

    “Isn’t that crazy?” he said. “But that’s what being a drug addict is – crazy.”

    His Friendship With Ryan White

    Drug dependency – one of several addictions that John battled, including alcoholism, eating disorders and sex addiction – left John with a spiritual center that felt “black, like a charred piece of steak,” as he told CBS News. But his friendship with Indiana teenager Ryan White, who contracted AIDS via a blood transfusion in 1984, helped him find the strength to regain direction for his life.

    “I had the luck to meet Ryan White and his family,” John said at Harvard University in 2017, where he was honored with the Peter J. Gomes Humanitarian Award for his work with the Elton John AIDS Foundation. “I wanted to help them, but they ended up helping me much more. Ryan was the spark that helped me recover from my addictions and start the AIDS foundation. Within six months, I became sober, and clean.”

    “I said, ‘I need help,’” John recalled to CBS News. “And suddenly, a little pilot light in my soul came along, going, ‘Yes, I’m still here. I’m still here. I’m still here. I can be rescued.”

    John’s career in the nearly three decades since that date has been as remarkable as the height of his pop stardom, which included worldwide sales of 300 million albums, 27 Top 10 hits and nine No. 1 singles. Knighted in 1998 for his charitable work – which has raised more than $450 million – John also netted three Oscar nominations, including a 1995 win, a Tony Award for “Aida” in 2000, and joined the ranks of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Songwriters Hall of Fame (with Bernie Taupin), Grammy Hall of Fame, and received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2004.

    “I so wish I’d never taken a drug,” said John to CBS News. “But in the end, unless I’d have got sober, I wouldn’t be the person I am today.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Dax Shepard & Kristen Bell Talk Sober Parenting, Wine Memes

    Dax Shepard & Kristen Bell Talk Sober Parenting, Wine Memes

    The celebrity couple discussed “mommy juice,” vacationing with others who imbibe and wine memes in a recent interview. 

    Celebrity couple Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard spoke of parenting without relying on alcohol to relax and making the “wine mom” memes work for them while living mostly sober lives in an interview with HuffPost.

    Shepard himself has been totally sober since 2004, and while Bell still has an occasional drink, she doesn’t imbibe as much as her friends. Shepard does get jealous sometimes, though.

    “We vacation almost exclusively with three other families who all have kids, and certainly at night, I’m super jealous of them because I’m like, f**k yeah I would love to drink something that turned down the volume of everyone in this house,” Shepard explained. “So I’m a little bit jealous in the evenings.”

    But then the hangover-free morning comes.

    “At 6:45 when we’re all up, I’m like, Oh I’m crushing right now. I feel great. And they’re miserable. And those voices are three times as loud with a hangover.”

    Shepard is trying to focus on the positives, such as those high-energy mornings with his young kids Delta Bell and Lincoln.

    Wine Memes In Online Parenting Communities

    Kristin Bell, meanwhile, may not drink every day, but she’s found a way to relate to the “mommy juice” memes that online parenting communities love.

    “So, the wine memes, for me, they’re all-encompassing in the fact that they represent, ‘Remember that you’re an adult. It’s OK if your kids are stressful and annoying. It’s OK to take time for yourself,’” she said. “But to me, that doesn’t necessarily ever mean alcohol.”

    Instead of always turning to alcohol, Bell finds comfort and stress relief in her husband.

    “I personally don’t have wine every day, but my wine is Netflix and cuddling with my husband or our date night.”

    Dax Doesn’t Mind Being Around People While They Drink

    Embracing a sober or mostly-sober lifestyle has spread into something of a trend, with an increasing number of celebrities trying it out. Bell and Shepard have been at the forefront, often speaking out about the benefits and challenges. Thankfully, their friends have been supportive and Shepard doesn’t find it difficult when others drink around him.

    “Dax has never been triggered by people drinking around him,” said Bell. “In fact, our friends are usually sensitive to it, and they look to me like, ‘Is it OK if I pour myself a drink?’ And Dax will notice and say, ’Oh no listen, I lost my privilege of drinking, but you didn’t lose your privilege. I think you should have a drink.′ So I’m very lucky there.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Elton John Crashed A Rolling Stones Concert While High On Cocaine

    Elton John Crashed A Rolling Stones Concert While High On Cocaine

    In his new memoir, the sober icon recalls some of the shenanigans he got into in the midst of his cocaine addiction.

    Most people in recovery have embarrassing stories about what they did while high or drunk, and Elton John is no different.

    The legendary singer, who has been sober for 29 years, recalled in his new memoir the time he crashed a Rolling Stones concert because he was high on cocaine. It was 1975, and John was joining the Stones on stage to sing one song — “Honkey Tonk Women.”

    However, when that ended, John was convinced that he should stay put for the rest of the set.

    “If I hadn’t been coked out of my head when the Rolling Stones turned up in Colorado and asked me to come onstage with them, I might have just performed “Honky Tonk Women,” waved to the crowd and made my exit,” John wrote in Me, which is out later this month. The Daily Mail published an excerpt of the book.

    A Keyboardist Named Elton

    John continued, “Instead, I decided it was going so well, I’d stay on and jam along to the rest of their set, without first taking the precaution of asking the Stones if they wanted an auxiliary keyboard player. For a while, I thought Keith Richards kept staring at me because he was awestruck by the brilliance of my improvised contributions to their oeuvre. After a few songs, it finally penetrated my brain that the expression on his face wasn’t really suggestive of profound musical appreciation.”

    It was then that John realized his mistake. “I quickly scuttled off, noting as I went that Keith was still staring at me in a manner that suggested we’d be discussing this later, and decided it might be best if I didn’t hang around for the after-show party,” he wrote.

    His Relationship With Cocaine

    John then went on to explain his fascination with cocaine.

    “There was something more to cocaine than the way it made me feel,” he wrote. “Cocaine had a certain cachet about it. It was fashionable and exclusive. Doing it was like becoming a member of an elite little clique, that secretly indulged in something edgy, dangerous and illicit. Pathetically enough, that really appealed to me. I’d become successful and popular, but I never felt cool.”

    In the late ’80s, John said that his partner at the time, Hugh Williams, prompted him to get help.

    “I noticed he was shaking. ‘You’re a drug addict,’ he said. ‘You’re an alcoholic. You’re a food addict and a bulimic. You’re a sex addict. You’re co-dependent.’” John wrote.

    At that point, he decided to seek treatment for all his addictions: ”Getting help wasn’t straightforward, as I needed to be treated for three addictions at once: cocaine, alcohol and food,” he wrote. 

    Nearly three decades later, John has maintained his sobriety, and still stays away from people who are doing cocaine.

    “I never felt like having a line, and I still can’t bear being anywhere near people who are doing it,” he writes. “The second I walk into a room, I know. I can just sense people are on it — from the way they’re talking, their voices pitched slightly louder than they need to be, not really listening — and how they’re behaving. I just leave — because, quite frankly, it’s a drug that makes people act like assholes. I wish I’d realized that 45 years ago.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Demi Moore In New Memoir: Ashton Kutcher Mocked Me For Drinking

    Demi Moore In New Memoir: Ashton Kutcher Mocked Me For Drinking

    The prolific actress says she relapsed after Kutcher questioned whether alcoholism was a real thing during their marriage. 

    Demi Moore is making headlines after the release of her new autobiography, Inside Out, where she drops major bombshells about her childhood, her relationships, and living with alcoholism. 

    In the book, Moore describes an exchange with ex-husband, actor and entrepreneur Ashton Kutcher, that made her question her sobriety and led her to relapse.

    Relapsing During Their Marriage

    “Ashton was enjoying a glass of good red wine when he said, ‘I don’t know if alcoholism is a real thing—I think it’s all about moderation. I wanted to be that girl. The girl who could have a glass of wine at dinner, or do a tequila shot at a party. In my mind, Ashton wanted that, too. So I tried to become that: a fun, normal girl.”

    Moore, who was almost 20 years sober at the time, says she didn’t stop to consider that Ashton was just a young man who didn’t understand alcoholism at all. She used his uninformed thinking to justify her own return to drinking. 

    According to People, Moore revealed that the That ’70s Show star encouraged her to embrace her wild side during their marriage but when she went too far with her drinking, he would humble her with photos.

    “Ashton had encouraged me to go in this direction. When I went too far, though, he let me know how he felt by showing a picture he’d taken of me resting my head on the toilet the night before. It seemed like a good-natured joke at the time. But it was really just shaming,” Moore writes.

    Childhood Trauma

    Moore also details various life-altering incidents from her childhood in Inside Out. 

    TW: Sexual Assault

    In one of the book’s biggest revelations, Moore details how when she was 15, a middle-aged man began hanging out with her then-single mother, Virginia. One day, the man let himself into their house and sexually assaulted the teen but that would not be the last time she saw him. Shortly after the assault, the man helped them move into a new place.

    During the move, the man asked Demi, “How does it feel to be whored by your mother for five hundred dollars?”

    Demi then gets candid about the possibility that her mother played a role in her sexual assault. 

    “Though [the man] may have given Ginny [Virginia Moore] money with no clear discussion of what he would get in return, it’s also entirely possible Ginny knew exactly what he wanted, and it’s possible she agreed he could have it,” she writes.

    Moore would go on to leave her mother’s house at 16 and head to Los Angeles where she would marry, have children and cultivate a career that would span decades. 

    Though Moore has experienced many ups and downs over her 56 years, she remains grateful for the life she is privileged to lead.

    “I’ve had extraordinary luck in this life: both bad and good. Putting it all down in writing makes me realize how crazy a lot of it has been, how improbable. But we all suffer, and we all triumph, and we all get to choose how to hold both,” she writes.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • John Goodman On Depression, Addiction

    John Goodman On Depression, Addiction

    The prolific actor, who’s been sober for 12 years, has been candid about his past struggles with alcoholism and depression.

    John Goodman of Roseanne and now The Conners has struggled with depression since gaining widespread fame in the late 1980s, according to a report by Amo Mama. He also battled alcohol addiction for decades, avoiding treatment until the problem got out of control and his wife got him into treatment in 2007.

    Heavy Drinking Affected His Job

    He spoke on this in a 2018 interview with Willie Geist of Today, revealing that he missed a rehearsal because he was still drunk from a weekend out with friends.

    “I was shaking, I was still drinking, but I was still shaking,” he said. “I had the clarity of thought that I needed to be hospitalized.”

    Now 12 years sober, Goodman is starring in the second season of The Conners, which premiered on Tuesday.

    Goodman’s mental health and substance use issues began after the success of Roseanne launched him into tabloid-worthy status.

    Dealing With Fame

    The actor had a difficult time adjusting to the new level of fame and scrutiny, calling it “very unnatural.” He had such a distaste for it that after the show ended, he moved his family from Los Angeles to New Orleans in an effort to escape from the unwanted attention.

    “I’d had it with show business, publicity, tabloid stuff – I’d just had it,” he told The Guardian in 2015. “I kind of wanted to get her, my daughter, away from that.”

    Unfortunately, by that time, Goodman was already in the grips of alcohol addiction. Though he never suffered an overdose, he admitted that “there’s many times I could have gone under” in terms of some type of “misadventure.”

    Now, however, Goodman says he only drinks in his dreams.

    Roseanne’s Cancellation 

    Though he’s doing well with his sobriety, Goodman still struggles with depression from time to time. He revealed in 2018 that he went through a depressed period that lasted about a month after the Roseanne reboot was canceled following racist comments from the show’s namesake, Roseanne Barr, about former senior advisor to Barack Obama, Valerie Jarrett.

    “I was brokenhearted, but I thought, ‘OK, it’s just show business, I’m going to let it go,’” said Goodman. “But I went through a period, about a month, where I was very depressed. I’m a depressive anyway, so any excuse that I can get to lower myself, I will. But that had a great deal to do with it, more than I wanted to admit.”

    The reboot was quickly re-crafted into a spinoff, The Conners, in which Roseanne dies suddenly of an opioid overdose following a hidden addiction and the family has to move forward without her — something many Americans could identify with at the peak of the opioid crisis.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Will Arnett Credits Community With Keeping Him Sober

    Will Arnett Credits Community With Keeping Him Sober

    “Sobriety to me is a gift. It’s something that I was fortunate enough to be able to receive and I’m very, very grateful on a daily basis.”

    Will Arnett, who is most recognized for playing George Oscar Bluth II (G.O.B.) on Arrested Development, credited his sober community with helping him overcome alcoholism when he received the Spirit of Sobriety Award at the Brent Shapiro Foundation Summer Spectacular last Saturday night (Sept. 21).

    “Sobriety to me is a gift,” Arnett said, according to Variety. “It’s something that I was fortunate enough to be able to receive and I’m very, very grateful on a daily basis.”

    He said that his decision to get sober has had a ripple effect on the people around him.

    “Sobriety has touched so many people, not just me but so many people in my life, my kids, my family,” he said.  

    He Relapsed In 2018 

    Arnett got sober more than 18 years ago after he noticed he was drinking too much. He briefly relapsed in 2016 while working on Flaked, his Netflix comedy series about a man in recovery. When that happened, he was able to reconnect with his recovery community, which has helped him stay sober.

    “I have been on the receiving end of a lot of kindness in my life and that kindness is what has allowed me to be here tonight passing the message on to others who need help,” Arnett said at the gala. “Community is the opposite of addiction. The more conversations we can have, the more people we can help.” 

    Celebrating Sobriety For A Good Cause

    The Brent Shapiro Foundation was started by Robert and Linell Shapiro, who lost their son Brent to a drug overdose in 2005. The foundation regularly brings together Hollywood stars to share their sobriety stories and raise money for addiction treatment and awareness. 

    “I think early education is a big key,” Linell Shapiro said at the event. “Being with your kids, being open about it, talking about drugs and their influences. I think if you start young enough, people lots of times don’t want to do that but if you start young enough and put it in the right way, it will really stay with a child.”

    Actress Eva Longoria hosted the event, and said that she has been touched by the work that the Shapiros have done in honor of their son. 

    “I do want to say as a new mother, this foundation and what they are doing is extremely important and it’s why we are here tonight,” she said. “The work that Bob and Linell have done over the last 14 years is remarkable and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Jenna Jameson Celebrates Sober Milestone

    Jenna Jameson Celebrates Sober Milestone

    Jameson took to Instagram to celebrate her fourth year of sobriety. 

    Jenna Jameson celebrated four years sober on Sunday, marking the occasion with a heartfelt Instagram post.

    “4 years. We do recover. We do overcome. We do rebuild. But we never forget,” Jameson wrote in the caption.

    The 45-year-old former adult film star, born Jenna Massoli, hit her sober milestone on September 22. She shared it with her Instagram followers by posting a graphic announcing, “You are clean 4 years.”

    Fighting Stigma

    “I wish the stigmas around addiction would stop,” she continued in her post. “I wish people would stop saying things like ‘Are you high?’ I wish someday people in active addiction and new recovery weren’t shamed.”

    “So many people are suffering, not only the addicts, but their friends and family. I am public about my struggle and eventual healing to help others, but we can all be the light for someone.”

    “Leave judgment to God and reach out in service of others,” she wrote. “If you’re reading this, addicted and afraid, I pray you find the strength to seek help. This subject needs to be less taboo. I love you.”

    Last year Jameson marked three years sober by posting a side-by-side comparison showing her dramatic weight loss. “I can’t begin to explain what sobriety has brought to my life,” she wrote at the time. “I’m not the intensely self centered ‘the world owes me something’ woman anymore. I am now the ‘what can I do for the world’ woman.”

    Mental Health Reflections

    The mother of three and amateur conservative Twitter pundit has used her platform on IG to not only reflect on recovery, but depression and anxiety as well.

    She wrote in a Sept. 3 post, “When I was young, I listened to every single criticism about my looks, my talent, my personality, even my coping skills… and I adjusted to them to please people. It was tiresome. It depleted me. By the time I turned 40, I felt empty… The past few years I’ve took inventory, I’ve begun to live my life for me, and slowly the true Jenna has come back to life. I forgot who she was. I was scared to show her, to really show her, vulnerable and flawed.”

    View the original article at thefix.com