Doja Cat is opening up about her past “struggles” with cocaine and alcohol.
“Man, I really don’t want to make this TikTok because I have fear in my heart, and I was taught that I should do something that scares me every day if I’m on any journey to healing, and so I’m gonna do it,” Doja, 30, began in a TikTok video on Monday, August 31.
The “Say So” singer went on to explain that she had “[used] the internet as a means of validation to the negative thoughts in my head, which were then brought on by drinking alcohol.”
“I’ve never had a real problem with drugs, except for weed. But alcohol is something that I definitely have had a problem with,” she continued. “I was never an alcoholic, but I definitely had problems. So, if I can teach somebody anything, and on a place where a lot of people f***ing hate my guts, I will at least say that I am good for teaching you that it’s not good to pair these two things together.”
In a follow-up video, Doja added, “Now I’m gonna make a disclaimer that I don’t want to make. I have struggled with cocaine … I think [it] could have been, like, eight years ago, but I’m well past that. So thank God.”
The Grammy winner noted, “Undiagnosed mental illness or uncared for, unaccounted for mental illness paired with social media is an extreme, extreme issue that I think a lot of us don’t understand.”
Doja then pointed out that negative comments online often validate the target’s feelings of insecurity.
“When we see things on the internet about ourselves that are negative, if people are commenting stuff that makes you hate yourself or whatever validates the stuff that you already hate about yourself, just know that first of all, you probably need help,” she said. “Second of all, they probably need help, and that’s why when people engage with me in a negative fashion and I say stuff back to them, I respond more to those comments because I’m affected more by those comments.”
In a third video, Doja, who is biracial, addressed allegations from fans who claim that she hates being a Black woman.
“I think I hated myself since I was — could have been, like, 8 years old. And that was when I moved to my predominantly white neighborhood,” she recalled.
“So, I think growing up that way, that’s just what comes with it, and understanding that has made me feel a lot stronger because I now have a direction to go in, as opposed to just sitting in my own filth and my own confusion, for lack of a better word,” Doja concluded. “I just felt like this TikTok was necessary and I need to get this s*** off of my chest. Today felt like the right day.”
Back in March, Doja revealed that she had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD).
“I’ve learned from a very young age to pretend that I like stuff, to pretend that I’m happy, to pretend that I don’t like stuff that I do, to appear like everything is OK,” she said in a TikTok video. “I’ll get it done. And it caught up with me, and I think it always does for people. I’m now struggling with BPD.”
Doja continued, “I’ve been in therapy for years now, and I am so relieved and so proud of myself. I’ve made it so far, and I still make mistakes, but it is an eight-year process of curing, treatment and healing.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
