Drew Barrymore slams tabloids for claiming she wished her mother was dead: 'Don't twist my words'
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On Drew Barrymore's eponymous daytime talk show, she's known for being warm and cuddly, perhaps to a fault. But make no mistake — mama's been through some stuff, and she's no pushover.
In a heated Instagram video posted Monday afternoon, the E.T. and Charlie's Angels actress denounced "all [the] tabloids out there" that had taken her remarks from a recent Vulture profile and claimed that she wished her estranged mother was dead.
"You know what, to all you tabloids out there, you have been f---ing with my life since I was 13 years old," Barrymore began. "I have never said that I wished my mother was dead. How dare you put those words in my mouth."
The row began after Barrymore spoke with Vulture about her surprise hit of a talk show, which features her getting up close and personal with her guests and audience. Barrymore is one the least guarded celebrities we have working today, a quality she developed in spite of her infamously troubled and closely scrutinized adolescence.
Paul Morigi/Getty Drew Barrymore
At the center of Barrymore's story is her mother, Jaid, with whom Barrymore has never fully reconciled since emancipating herself at 14. On The Drew Barrymore Show, the host has also conducted memorable interviews about the complexity of mother-daughter relationships, with guests such as Jennette McCurdy and Brooke Shields.
"All their moms are gone, and my mom's not," Barrymore told Vulture. "And I'm like, Well, I don't have that luxury. But I cannot wait. I don't want to live in a state where I wish someone to be gone sooner than they're meant to be so I can grow. I actually want her to be happy and thrive and be healthy. But I have to f---ing grow in spite of her being on this planet."
Barrymore later regretted what she said about her mother, telling the outlet, "I dared to say it, and I didn't feel good. I do care. I'll never not care. I don't know if I've ever known how to fully guard, close off, not feel, build the wall up."
In the wake of the profile being published, multiple outlets reported that Barrymore wished her mother dead. That's when the Never Been Kissed star took a break from dancing in the rain and offered her own deluge of hard truths.
"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," Barrymore said in her Instagram video, noting that by "cannot wait" she meant her eagerness to figure out the relationship, not for the death of a parent.
"Do not twist my words around or ever say that I wished my mother was dead," Barrymore concluded. "I have never said that, I never would, and 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."
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