Whoopi Goldberg Admits To Battling Cocaine Addiction In The 80s

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Whoopi Goldberg In Conversation With Adriana Trigiani
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 06: Whoopi Goldberg attends a discussion of the book "Bits and Pieces" at 92NY on May 06, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Gary Gershoff/Getty Images)
Goldberg says she decided to clean up her act when a hotel housekeeper found her lying on the closet floor.

Today, Whoopi Goldberg released her new memoir, Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me. The book encompasses her early life, growing up in New York City with her family, and the obstacles she faced as a young adult. At one point in her memoir, Goldberg details her battle with cocaine addiction in the 80s. She recalled realizing that she needed to clean up her act when a housekeeper found her lying on a closet floor.

“I had stayed pretty far away from drugs, except for pot, after getting cleaned up in the early ‘70s,” she explains. ”But Los Angeles and New York started to redefine what ‘recreational drug use’ meant in the ‘80s." She continues, "It was a really good time for about a year. Then I fell into the deep well of cocaine and sank to a new low. Nobody around me caught on to where I was at with it. At least, that’s what I wanted to believe. I would have called myself ‘a very high-functioning addict.’

Whoopi Goldberg Recalls Telling Herself, "Fix Your Life"

That didn't last for long, however, as Goldberg soon found herself at a new low after a two-day binge at a hotel. "Cocaine started to kick my a**,” she recalls. “I’d go to work and realize I was getting sloppy. I was sitting on the closet floor, just putting it up my nose,” she says. “All by myself. I didn’t hear the housekeeper knock or let herself in the room to clean it up.”

“I looked at myself in the mirror near the door and saw cocaine all over my face,” she admits. “Get up, get out, and fix your life,” she recalls telling herself. “'You’ve been sitting in a closet for two days. It’s not good.' I had already decided that I was willing and ready to stop, so I was going to do whatever I needed to stop putting drugs up my nose.” What do you think of Whoopi Goldberg opening up about battling drug addiction in the 80s? What about her new memoir, Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below, and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.

About The Author
Caroline Fisher is a News Writer at HotNewHipHop from Chicago, Illinois. She started at HNHH this year, and has since spent her time writing about all that is newsworthy in the world of hip-hop. With a drive for hunting down the hottest stories, she enjoys documenting new developments in culture and entertainment. She also has an appreciation for hip-hop and seeks to cover the most important trends and shifts. She has a Bachelor of Arts which she received at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Having graduated in 2022, she majored in English with a concentration in Media, Rhetoric and Cultural Studies. Specializing all things music, pop culture and entertainment, some of her favorite musical artists include Snoop Dogg, OutKast, and Nicki Minaj. When she’s not writing about music she’s also a fan of attending shows, watching the latest movies, staying up-to-date with current events, photography, and poetry.
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