Pink opened up about the near-fatal overdose she experienced as a teenager — and explained why she’s so willing to share the darkest parts of her past with her fans.
“I had a chip on my shoulder,” Pink, 44, recalled during a Sunday, October 22, interview on 60 Minutes. “Basically, I grew up in a house where every day my parents were screaming at each other, throwing things, they hated each other, and then I got into drugs. I was selling drugs. And then I was kicked out of the house, I dropped out of high school, I was off the rails.”
When she was 16, however, Pink — whose real name is Alecia Moore — had a wake-up call that made her realize she needed to make a change. “Thanksgiving of 1995, I was at a rave and I overdosed,” the pop starrecalled. “I was on — oh, boy — ecstasy, angel dust, crystal, all kinds of things.”
Pink confirmed that the overdose nearly killed her, but she quickly decided she needed to stop doing drugs. “Then I was out,” she explained. “Done. Too much.”
Weeks after the overdose, she got her first record deal as part of the girl group Choice. The band was short-lived, but Pink soon went solo, releasing her first solo album, Can’t Take Me Home, in 2000. She’s now one of the biggest pop stars in the world. During her Summer Carnival tour this year, her shows broke attendance records at baseball stadiums including Boston’s Fenway Park, Detroit’s Comerica Park and Minneapolis’ Target Field.
In the interview, Pink credited her difficult youth with helping her achieve everything she has in the music industry.
“I realized that the machete that I’ve always carried — this metaphorical machete that I’ve always carried that made me a really difficult kid — is what makes me really good at what I do today,” she explained. “And it’s what makes me a survivor.”
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She went on to note that she’s not afraid to share her personal life with fans because it helps her foster a deeper connection with her listeners.
“If I’m a mystery to you, how can I expect you to connect with me?” she asked. “And if I’m a person that’s desperate for connection, then why would mystery be interesting to me? I wanna know you. I want you to know me.”
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).