Macy Gray Clarifies She Was 'Totally Joking' When Saying She Doesn’t Do 'Hippie Sh*t,' Prefers Cocaine (UPDATE)

UPDATED 9/24, 8:00 a.m. ET: Now a couple months removed from news coverage stemming from her remarks about cocaine and edibles, among other things, Macy Gray is clarifying that she was “totally joking” in the widely shared Surreal Life clip.

In a new interview with Tamron Hall, Gray was asked about the viral comments, which she suggests were taken out of context and actually stem from a “running joke” about Pablo Escobar. Notably, the reality series was in production in Colombia at the time, with Gray recalling that she and others had been joking about the possibility of finding hidden coke and cash stashes in the region.

“Totally joking,” Gray explained. “We became like family with the producers. I’m talking to one of my favorite ones. … It was totally a joke.”

Later, Gray agreed with Hall’s assessment that she was “mortified” by how the clip was presented in numerous headlines.

See original story below.

Macy Gray likes to unwind in a particular way.

The singer revealed during the premiere of MTV’s The Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets that she uses drugs and booze to relax.

“I just don’t do the hippie shit,” she said. “Like I live in LA, that’s hippie kingdom. If I’m healing, that’s not how I do it.”

When asked what she turns to instead, Gray said, laughing, “Like cocaine and a couple shots. Get those edibles down my throat and I’m good, girl. Then order me a pizza and I’m straight. I don’t need all that shit; I’m good.”

According to TMZ, celebrity contestants were taught breathing techniques in the Colombian mountains during the episode. Besides Gray, Chet Hanks, O.T. Genasis, Tyler Posey, Ally Brooke, Kim Zolciak, Johnny Weir, and Josie Canseco also appear on the reality show.

Hanks recently spoke about his own cocaine addiction, telling Bradley Martyn's Raw Talk podcast, calling himself a “fucking cokehead.”

“That’s my drug of choice,” Hanks added, explaining that he was doing so much coke that other avid cocaine users would tell him to “chill.”