Whoopi Goldberg opened up about her former cocaine addiction in her autobiography. The 68-year-old actress explained in her book of memories, “Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me,” the spiral into which she fell, in part because of the permissiveness of the environment in which she operated.
“I had stayed fairly away from drugs, with the exception of weed, after detoxing in the early ’70s,” the Oscar winner writes. She had previously undergone drug rehab before entering the entertainment industry. However, Whoopi Goldberg explained that her arrival on the Hollywood scene in the 1980s coincided with a more relaxed attitude in the industry towards hard drugs.
“I was invited to parties where I was greeted at the door with a bowl of Quaaludes from which I could pick whatever I wanted. Lines of cocaine were laid out on tables and bathroom counters for consumption,” the “Sister Act” star wrote.
Initially, the actress thought she could “manage” her cocaine intake because it didn’t seem as “dangerous” as other substances. However, after a year of occasional use, the drug began to take control of her life, and she began to have hallucinations. At one point, Whoopi Goldberg believed a “creature” was hiding under her bed.
“I didn’t move from my bed for twenty-four hours,” she wrote. “This kind of shit doesn’t end well. A person can only hold their bladder for a certain amount of time.”
