From her decades of (mostly) joyous and good-natured Hollywood projects to her recent years as a candid and endlessly entertaining talk show host, Drew Barrymore is known for standing out as an uplifting celebrity whose cheerful smiles remain bright and inspirational. But that smile was replaced by something with a harder edge this week in the aftermath of a candid interview, as her emotional thoughts about her relationship with mother Ildiko Jaid Barrymore were taken out of context to the point where news outlets reporting that she “cannot wait” for her mom to die so that any amount of closure could be felt. Rather than let those reports spread, the E.T. vet took to social media to clarify her stance in a most serious manner.
In one of the most distinctly upset videos she’s ever put out there, Drew Barrymore slammed tabloids for rolling out headlines that specifically claimed she's wished for the death of her mother (who may or may not have hooked up with Rob Lowe's dad in the past). Here’s how she put it on Instagram:
To all you tabloids out there, you have been fucking with my life since I was 13 years old. I have never said that I wish my mother was dead. How dare you put those words in my mouth? I have been vulnerable, and tried to figure out a very difficult, painful relationship, while admitting it is difficult to do while a parent is alive. And that for those of us who have to figure that out in real time cannot wait — as in cannot wait for ‘the time,’ not ‘the parent is dead.’
The Never Been Kissed star hasn’t ever shied away from talking about how her childhood stardom in Hollywood led her down some dark avenues, due in part to her mother Jaid serving as her manager and taking her to all manner of high-profile parties through the 1980s. This in part led to the tween actress abusing alcohol and drugs, and thereafter getting help through rehab, even before the age of 13. To that end, Barrymore hasn’t ever really held back on speaking about spending decades in a strained relationship with her mother, even as her attitude about her late father John Barrymore became more forgiving over time. (He passed away in 2004.)
In her Vulture interview, the talk show host reflected on a talk she had with Nickelodeon vet Jennette McCurdy, whose memoir I’m Glad My Mom Is Dead explored the former child star’s own complicated mother-daughter relationship. Comparatively, Barrymore shared that she was unable to mentally approach her own life in the same way while her mom is still alive, and that she couldn’t wait for the time when she’d be able to find peace in that way, which other outlets took to mean as “she can’t wait for her mom to die.”
Drew Barrymore continued in her IG post, saying:
Don’t twist my words around, or ever say that I wish my mother was dead. I have never said that. I never would. In fact, I go on to say that I wish that I never have to live an existence where I would wish that on someone, because that is sick.
To be expected, some of Barrymore's celebrity pals shared their support through comments on the Instagram post, as seen below:
- Jennifer Love Hewitt: Yes! Let them have it!
- Jennifer Garner: You’re brave and real and I adore you xxx
- Jessica Capshaw: I love you!!♥️♥️
- Padma Lakshmi: Ugh. So sorry. We all knew what you meant. Thank you for your vulnerability always ❤️
- Kathy Najimi: With you angel ❤️ believe you♥️
- Cat Deeley: Brilliant 🙌🙌🙌🙌
- Debra Messing: Warrior. ❤️
Drew Barrymore is no stranger to having her words twisted by others. Last year, when talking to Andrew Garfield about sex and celibacy, her comments about abstaining were misinterpreted to be that she hates sex, which she had to come back and clarify after the fact. Those obviously weren't quite as potentially salacious as anything involving her mother's death, however.
Catch the beloved celeb every weekday morning for The Drew Barrymore Show, with past episodes available to stream with a Paramount+ suscription.
