During a recent interview to promote his movie, The United States vs. Billie Holiday, Lee Daniels revealed that Patti LaBelle helped him get sober.
Speaking to The Guardian, he said:
“Part of the reason I wanted to tell Billie’s story is, I understand addiction and the artist. I also understand the feeling of a lack of self-worth, thinking that you aren’t talented. When your father tells you things like that at a young age, no matter how old you get, that voice is in your head.”
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Daniels claimed he began using drugs after he lost a lot of friends during the AIDS epidemic in the 80s.
He continued: “Patti LaBelle was the cause of my sobriety. I called her one night at 3am – it was when I was doing Precious [in 2008], and I kept rambling at her. She said to me, ‘You know God and you know Jesus,’ and I said, ‘Are you really gonna ruin my high now? What are you talking about, lady?’ But I said a prayer and that was the beginning for me.”
