Whoopi Goldberg Reflects on Past Cocaine Use and Drug-Induced Hallucinations

In her new memoir, Whoopi Goldberg reveals intimate details about her past addiction to cocaine, sharing that the addiction resulted in the actress experiencing hallucinations.

In the new memoir, titled Bits and Pieces, Goldberg reflects on her long history of substance use, beginning in her youth before getting sober in the '70s. But as she entered the industry at the start of her Hollywood career, the comedian found herself surrounded by an abundance of cocaine, which resulted in her relapse.

"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," she writes in the memoir. "Lines of cocaine were laid across tables and bathroom counters for the taking."

Goldberg discusses her struggle to maintain sobriety for 12 months, before she began using cocaine again. During this time, she experienced drug-induced hallucinations, spending prolonged periods isolated in her room. She vividly recalls one instance when she hallucinated a monster lurking beneath her bed, causing her to remain confined to her room for 24 hours, resulting in her urinating on the mattress.

"It was a really good time for about a year," she wrote. "Then I fell into the deep well of cocaine and sank to a new low. Nobody around me caught on to where I was at with it. At least, that's what I wanted to believe. I would have called myself 'a very high-functioning addict.’”

Goldberg recounts getting sober again after a hotel maid found her doing cocaine in the closet of her room.

"Get up, get out, and fix your life," she recalls thinking. "You've been sitting in a closet for two days. It's not good."