The actress and talk show host Drew Barrymore has opened up about her past experience in entering a rehabilitation facility at the age of 14.
She was opening up on the show
Barrymore, 50, opened up about her experience in rehab during a conversation on her show The Drew Barrymore Show with guest Mae Martin on Friday, October 24.
Martin, 38, created, co-wrote, and stars in a Netflix mystery series called Wayward, which follows police investigation into a local school for troubled teens.
It’s loosely based on Martin’s experiences
Martin, who identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, said that the series is loosely based on their own experiences, and recalled that their childhood friend had entered a similar facility for two years during their teenage years.
Barrymore then talked about her own experiences
As Martin discussed their friend’s experience, Barrymore also opened up about her own time in rehab as a teenager.
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She began, “I also was someone who got taken away and put in a place for two years.”
Barrymore complimented the show
Martin replied, “I did not know that. I mean, I knew that you were a wayward teen, as was I. I was in rehab and stuff, but I didn’t know that you were at one of those places.”
The talk show host then complimented the nuance in Wayward’s exploration of the troubled teen industry, explaining that it’s a complex journey to be on.
Barrymore shared her experience being treated
Barrymore said, “I had a lot of lightness in my experience in the institution. It’s a lot of what this show is.”
“I know that sounds wild, but it was like encouragement to say your truth, to be brave, to find humor and heroism in your journey.”
It’s ‘the best thing that ever happened to’ her
The actress added, “And it’s the best thing that ever happened to me, honestly.”
“And I hold a lot of that sacrosanct. But it wasn’t easy. It was hard as hell,” she went on.
Martin also shared their journey
The guest shared that they were 16 when they entered a treatment facility.
“And I don’t know about you,” Martin said. “But now, as an adult, I feel so protective of young people and having had that experience of being pathologized at a very young age for things that are just kind of… yeah, I think that all went into it.”
Barrymore was in rehab for 18 months
Barrymore revealed in a 2015 interview with The Guardian that she joined a rehabilitation facility for drug and alcohol addiction when she was 13 years old and stayed there for 18 months.
