Drew Barrymore Says She's 'Shocked to Realize' the 'Trauma' as a Former 'Blackout Drinker'

After years of alcohol dependence, stemming from childhood, actress and talk show host Drew Barrymore made the brave decision to go sober in 2019.

But five years later, upon seeing Zoë Kravitz-directed film Blink Twice, scenes from the thriller triggered Barrymore's feelings around drinking and substance abuse. On a new episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, where Kravitz was a guest, the two actresses had a vulnerable discussion about sobriety.

"When I was watching the film, something that really affected me personally... There's a lot about substances in the film, Barrymore told Kravitz around the four-minute mark. "I was shocked to realize that part of my journey that I was looking to find the trauma inside of me and what is it about."

She continued, "A big part of it was I used to be a blackout drinker, and so watching this film was an extraordinary journey for me to forgive myself for that, because I've put myself in situations I shouldn't have put myself in. And I felt so much shame about that. And I haven't had a drink in five years."
Barrymore added that Blink Twice "is not only a film about the things that can happen to us," but allowed her to examine "the things we've done to ourselves."

Kravtiz agreed with Barrymore's plot breakdown, calling the substances "more of a way to get the characters to the most vulnerable place possible."

She continued, "When you let yourself go and you lose yourself, it’s so easy for things to spiral out of control.”

"To your point as well, when we allow ourselves to be in those kinds of situations, there is so much shame when we get to the other side. So we make mistakes, we hurt ourselves, we get hurt by others, and then oftentimes we are left to deal with the consequences on our own."

In addition, Barrymore plans to get a snake tattoo, based on the film's symbolism of snake venom allowing women on the island to come into awareness.

Barrymore, struggled with alcoholism beginning when she was nine, delving into marijuana and cocaine usage before she was 13, as detailed in her 1991 autobiography, Little Girl Lost. Barrymore would go to rehab at 13, but officially quit drinking three years after her 2016 divorce from actor Will Kopelman.

"It was just trying to numb the pain and feel good—and alcohol totally did that for me," Barrymore told People in 2022 about her divorce. "The drinking thing for me was a constant, like, 'You cannot change. You are weak and incapable of doing what's best for you. You keep thinking you will master this thing, and it's getting the better of you.'"