At soirees around Hollywood, Bel Air and Beverly Hills, a bowl of Quaaludes would greet her at the door and lines of cocaine would be laid out inside.
Whoopi described herself as a “very high-functioning addict” for about a year before she started getting “sloppy” at work.
In her candid new book, she goes on to recall an extremely awkward encounter with a hotel maid at the height of her addiction.
After someone had given her an ounce of cocaine, Whoopi says she was sitting on the closet floor using the drug by herself when a maid let herself in.
The maid opened the closet door and “I screamed”, the Sister Act star said.
“She screamed and backed up and looked like she was going to run.
“I had to get to her quickly and try to calm her down. She was staring at my face as I talked.”
Whoopi called the story a “slap-in-the-face” moment. Once the maid had left, the star turned to look in the mirror and discovered she had cocaine “all over my face”.
“I’d have been so embarrassed if my mother knew the extent the coke had me in its clutches,” she said.
Once she had realised the extent of the problem, she gave up the drug and changed her friend circle, turning down party invites.
She added she didn’t want to die, and felt like the “luckiest woman in the world” when she was able to give up the drug relatively quickly compared to other addicts who struggle for years.
