The Queer Eye star opened up about the negative effects that drugs had had on him.
Queer Eye’s Karamo Brown has opened up about his previous drug addition. Talking to People, he admitted that he used cocaine as an “escape.”
Speaking about his desperation for the drug at the time, he said: “There was a point where I had my ATM set for fast cash for the amount for an eighth of cocaine and I would give my card to the strange dealer, who I didn’t even know his last name, so he could go to the ATM for me.
“He could have robbed me blind. That was a low point where I was like, ‘How can you embarrass yourself?’”
Recounting a different incident, Karamo spoke about using in front of his mother, saying: “I was in the car one New Year’s Eve with my mother and she was in the front seat, and she knew I was using.
“And I was doing cocaine while she was in front seat, and the look on her face of hurt, of pain, I was like, ‘Ugh, I put my family through that.’”
However, Karamo then explained how his previous addiction has allowed him to help others. “But I had to forgive myself, because going through that allows me to talk to people who have addictions and say, ‘I know what you’re going through,’” he said.
“It allows me to talk to family members who are dealing with someone who has addiction, whether it’s drugs, alcohol, food, exercise, porn, there are so many different addictions.”
This isn’t the first time that Karamo has spoken so candidly about a personal issue, as last year he opened up about a past suicide attempt.
“I was in a very dark place. I just felt like life could not get any better, [and that] everything that was happening to me was never going to change, and I tried to take my own life,” he said.
He added that if it wasn’t for his two friends who found him and called an ambulance, he “probably would not be here today”.
“I know so many of us suffer from mental health issues, and we just don’t know where to turn, and every day it seems darker and darker, but I want you to know that things do get better,” he continued.
“If you get help and you do the work daily, your life can change. I’m living proof of that. And if you know someone in your life that’s going through it, reach out to them. You could be their support.”
And speaking to Gay Times for our October issue as to why he chose to reveal this part of his life, he told Otamere Guobadia: “We need to get to a place where we feel very confident about talking about this, because the lack of discussion, and the lack of openness is what’s killing us.
“Me sharing my story is to save someone else, so that someone doesn’t feel like they’re lost, like they have to overdose, that they want to commit suicide, because I am a poster child… I’m a mental health professional, who lost his way.
“Anybody can lose their way. Because mental health is something you have to constantly work on and get support on.
“So if I can lose my way and feel like life is dark and there’s no importance of living, then I also can find my way. And I wanted people to know that they can find their way as well if they’re going through it.”
Latest
