Mike Epps recently admitted he was high while filming in 2002. At the time, he was starring alongside Ice Cube in ‘All About the Benjamins.’
All Hip Hop reports that the comedian claimed Cube encouraged him to quit.
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The funny man sat down with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson for the ‘All the Smoke’ podcast.
But the topic was no laughing matter. Epps opened up, saying, “I’ve been on drugs, I’ve been through hell.”
Mike sold drugs in his hometown and served two years in 1989 for drug possession, per Atlanta Black Star. He later relocated to New York. Then, he went to Los Angeles, where he found stardom.
Ice Cube’s Encouraged Mike Epps To Quit Drugs
Epps told the hosts that he struggled with “survivor’s remorse.” He did drugs to cope and was high during most of the scenes. Rather than isolate him, Epps said Cube would attempt to uplift him.
“I did most of the movies on cocaine. ‘All About the Benjamins,’ I was—man, I used to sit in Ice Cube’s trailer in the morning and be crying tears. He like, ‘Mike, wipe your face, man. You a king, n****. Stop doing this **** to yourself.’”
He continued, “I’m sitting there wiping myself ’cause I was really, really, really—I had survivor’s remorse. I was so sad that I left all them n***** here in the city, and I was famous.”
The 53-year-old stated his old homies rejected him when he was succeeding in Hollywood. Mike admitted to doing drugs to stay connected to them. He claims that they welcomed him with open arms when he was addicted to drugs.
“And when I would come home, I wanted them to be happy for me. And they was mad at me,” Mike said. “So, I said damn I gotta destroy myself for you to like me. I was like damn, my favorite n*****, it seemed like he liked me more when I’m coming down off coke and I’m crying and I hate myself,” the entertainer admitted.
Ironically, he was cast in the show “Survivor’s Remorse” on the Starz network. During a panel at the 2016 Television Critics Association Winter Tour, he said he was written off the show ahead of Season 3. The comic claimed, ‘I asked for some more money and they killed me. … That’s usually what happens on TV shows,” per Atlanta Black Star.
Epps currently stars in an HGTV show, ‘Buying Back the Block,’ with his wife Kyra. In addition to the Netflix series, ‘The Upshaws.’ The sitcom is entering its fourth season.
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