Kid Cudi stopped by Jada Pinkett Smith’s Red Table Talk to discuss his mental health issues and battle with drugs. After Pinkett Smith opened up about her own struggles, the veteran actress brought out Cudi for a revealing conversation about his troubles.
Cudi spoke about dealing with depression, which he said was exacerbated by his fame. The multi-platinum artist noted that he felt a tremendous amount of pressure to live up to the lofty standards projected on him by fans and industry players alike.
“That’s where most of the bad stuff came in,” Cudi said. “I have to live up to be this person, and I don’t feel like that. It’s like doing a comedy but you’re miserable. It’s like my life was like this show and I was always supposed to be on. But when the show was over, I was completely miserable. For a long time, I wasn’t happy when I woke up in the morning.”
Later on, Cudi delved into his drug use. The “Day ‘n Nite” creator said he secretly used cocaine, which is why it flew under the radar for so long.
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“It was a very private thing,” he explained. “I was dealing with my shit alone. I never did drugs around a bunch of people.”
Cudi said he was good at keeping his drug abuse hidden, even from his close friends.
“I really went out my way to keep what I was going through hidden because I was ashamed,” he stated. “I think that’s why I quit the first time because I got arrested then everybody knew about it. But I didn’t quit for the right reasons. I didn’t quit because it wasn’t good for me.”
He continued, “I was really worried, and I kinda like had that moment where I was just like, ‘Do I really wanna get back on drugs and do cocaine again? Do I really wanna go back on this journey at 32?’ I woke up one morning, and I was just thinking like, ‘Man, this isn’t healthy. And I don’t know what else to do but get some help and find some place I can go.’ And I found a place.”
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Cudi gave fans some positive news when he announced he’d been off cocaine for two years. He also had a special moment with one of the show’s production assistants, who tattooed lyrics from Cudi’s “Ghost!” on his arm.
Check out the entire episode of Red Table Talk above.
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