Lamar Odom has been making the press rounds to promote his new memoir, Darkness to Light, with one stop including a new interview with ABC News‘ Juju Chang that aired on Good Morning America.
The interview addressed Odom’s past drug use, with the athlete stating that he “can’t even remember” the last time he did cocaine, saying, “it’s been a long time.”
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“So you’re not high now?” Chang asked.
“Did I sniff cocaine before this interview?” Odom responded. “No.”
“You’ve told stories in the past, how do I know you’re telling the truth now? Chang queried.
Odom, who completed a month-long rehab stay in 2016, replied, “All that you can do is believe me, and if you don’t, there’s nothing I can do.”
The 39-year-old shared that he does have an occasional drink and that he smokes marijuana “just to help with some anxiety,” revealing that the last time he smoked was the previous day. During recovery, he also began boxing for at least an hour every day along with weight training and practicing basketball.
Odom’s battle with addiction began years ago, culminating with a near-death experience at a Nevada brothel in 2015.
“I was professional at hiding it,” he said. “Khloé didn’t know for a long time.”
Odom married Khloé Kardashian in 2009 after a one-month romance, with the duo filming Keeping Up With the Kardashians together and scoring their own spin-off show, Khloé & Lamar. Kardashian filed four divorce four years after their marriage.
“I mean, I loved it,” Odom said of being a part of the famous family. “A red carpet is rolled out for you everywhere you go…What’s not to love about that?”
“And at that time, when we shot [Khloé & Lamar]…I was playing really good basketball,” he added. “I don’t really think there’s ever gonna be another NBA player to be on a number-one reality show, playing high-level basketball.”
Odom also recalled an incident where he threatened to kill Kardashian while under the influence of drugs.
“I’m pretty sure she had to be scared at that point in time,” he said. “I’m thinking about it now, like, I couldn’t believe how I was treating that queen like that.”
The former Los Angeles Laker added that he owed “her and her family an apology. Big time.”
“Her friends and family, they had to be embarrassed,” he said, adding in his memoir that cheating was a “regular part” of his relationship with the Good American designer.
“I had broken my vows with Khloé so many times it’s just impossible for me to remember them all,” he wrote. “I don’t know why Khloé stayed with me.”
Photo Credit: ABC News
