Whoopi Goldberg Reveals Her Past Drug Addiction

At the height of the 80s, Whoopi Goldberg indulged in recreational drug use.

By Brenda Alexander

Whoopi Goldberg writes about having to kick a cocaine addiction in her new memoir, Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me. Initially, she steered clear of hard drug use, only using marijuana from time to time, and even spending time in rehab before hitting it big in Hollywood.

"I had stayed pretty far away from drugs, except for pot, after getting cleaned up in the early '70s," she writes, as reported by Page Six. But she quickly learned that playing in Hollywood and New York's social circle, with money, power, and access, redefined the meaning of "recreational drug use" in the 80s.

"I was invited to parties where I was greeted at the door with a bowl of Quaaludes from which I could pick what I wanted," the View moderator remembers. "Lines of cocaine were laid across tables and bathroom counters for the taking."

Goldberg says partygoers knew cops were never going to raid the home of a "big-time producer or actor," so everyone was "very relaxed" and "everyone partook." She believed she could "handle" cocaine, noting it didn't appear "dangerous" because everyone was into it. She says she had things under control for about a year and was able to continue working uninterrupted before she realized she had a problem. 

Quickly, she says cocaine "started to kick [her] ass." She recalls hallucinating while high once, staying in bed for 24 hours believing there was a dangerous creature lurking under her bed that would try to attack her if she got up.

Her wake-up call came while she was staying in a ritzy Manhattan hotel. She writes about sitting in the closet, doing the drug, when a housekeeper came in, opened the closet door, and screamed. The Sister Act star left the closet and as she walked through the room, she caught sight of her face in a mirror, which was smeared with cocaine.

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She says she was lucky that she was "able to stop using drugs quickly," and went cold turkey.

"I knew I'd have to change out my friends and turn down invitations but I could do that," she recalls. "I didn't want to die."

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