Queer Eye culture expert Karamo Brown is often seen doling out life-affirming advice to those who need it, but he’s experienced his own personal struggles, too. That fact became clear when the star shared his own experiences with substance abuse.
On Wednesday (March 6), Brown appeared on People Now to promote the third season of Queer Eye and his new memoir Karamo: My Story of Embracing Purpose, Healing and Hope. In the interview, Brown spoke about his past struggles with abusing cocaine, which he said dominated his daily life.
“Cocaine became my escape,” he said. “I went to a place where I was using this drug and using it, like, early in the morning, in the evening…there was a point where I had my ATM set for fast cash set for the amount for an eighth of cocaine.”
Brown elaborated, saying that at his lowest points, he gave his ATM card to a stranger in order to have them go withdraw money from his account and buy cocaine for him, and did the drug in front of his mother. “That was the low point where I was like, ‘How could you embarrass yourself?’” he said. “The look on her face of hurt, of pain, I was like…‘I put my family through that.’”
But the star said the key to his moving on and recovery was forgiving himself in order to try and help others. “Going through that allows me to talk to people who have addictions and say ‘I know what you’re going through,’” he said. “It allows me to talk to family members who are dealing with someone who has an addiction…I can speak to that and say, ‘You can grow through this and heal from it.’”
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Brown’s memoir, which details his addiction andthe many other facets of his life before and after Queer Eye, is now available in bookstores everywhere. Season 3 of Queer Eye premieres on Netflix March 15.
Watch the full clip of Karamo Brown discussing his past drug abuse below: