No, Drew Barrymore Didn't Say She Wishes Her Mom Were Dead
Barrymore called out tabloids for twisting her words.
Whoever hurt salt-of-the-earth, sunshine-and-rainbows-personified talk show host and actor Drew Barrymore — you are on my sh*t list!
Barrymore, 48, had to clarify some quotes from a recent magazine interview after certain media outlets took some words she said about her mom out of context.
In a recent New York cover interview, Barrymore opened up about the complicated relationship she has with her mother, Jaid. And while she doesn’t regret a single thing she said, she did want to tell all those news outlets who reported fallacies that’s she’s not taking their sh*t anymore.
In an Instagram video, Barrymore clapped back at tabloids for twisting her comments about her her mom and former manager into claims that the Never Been Kissed star wishes her mom were dead.
“To all you tabloids out there, you have been fucking with my life since I was 13 years old. I have never said that I wish my mother was dead. How dare you put those words in my mouth!” she said in a vulnerable video message.
As a child actor, Barrymore’s mom oversaw her career. It is widely known that things turned for the worst, with Barrymore’s mom pulling her daughter into a world that no child should ever be exposed to.
As Barrymore explained in the interview, her mom took her to parties and nightclubs when she was as young as 8 years old. Barrymore abused alcohol and drugs from a very early age.
Although her mother took her to rehab, she also pulled her out of treatment to film movies twice — the first time, Barrymore said, after she’d been there for only 12 days. When she was 14, Barrymore emancipated herself, but she told New York that she still supports her mom financially, despite the two being more or less estranged.
When speaking about other child actors who went through similar trials as Barrymore, she said, “All their moms are gone, and my mom’s not. And I’m like, ‘Well, I don’t have that luxury.’ But I cannot wait. I don’t want to live in a state where I wish someone to be gone sooner than they’re meant to be so I can grow. I actually want her to be happy and thrive and be healthy. But I have to fucking grow in spite of her being on this planet.”
Later in the interview, Barrymore clarified her earlier words on her mom, confessing, “I dared to say it, and I didn’t feel good.”
In her Instagram video, Barrymore clarified that by saying she “cannot wait,” she did not mean she was excited for her mother to die.
“I have been vulnerable and tried to figure out a very difficult, painful relationship while admitting it is difficult to do while a parent is alive,” she explained. “Don’t twist my words around or ever say that I wish my mother was dead. I have never said that. I never would.”
Words of support for the host of The Drew Barrymore Show flooded the post, including celebrity pals of who posted words of affirmation.
Friend of Barrymore and actor Jennifer Garner wrote, “You’re brave and real and I adore you xxx”
Jennifer Love Hewitt echoed, “Yes! Let them have it!”
Model and host Padma Laksmi replied, “Ugh. So sorry. We all knew what you meant. Thank you for your vulnerability always ❤️”
Weeds actor Elizabeth Perkins chimed in and said, “Thank you for saying this. You deserve so much better…like all the love in the whole world. 💕”
Do better, tabloids!
