In a new magazine interview, the 'Blinding Lights' singer admits that he still smokes weed and 'occasionally drinks,' but he doesn't do hard drugs anymore.
- Aug 4, 2021
AceShowbiz - The Weeknd has come under fire over his unconventional take on sobriety. Gracing the cover of GQ magazine, the Canadian star described himself as "sober lite," which doesn't sit well with Ken Seeley, who has been helping everyday addicts to become sober.
Sharing his two cents on the singer's comments, the author slams the three-time Grammy-winning artist for promoting this "harmful" new kind of sobriety. "They have millions and millions of followers and they're out there promoting this new sobriety and it could be really harmful," the interventionist tells TMZ.
Reflecting on his own experience before he became sober, Ken adds, "It could kill a lot of people because if you're an addict like me, there is no 'sober lite,' there is no 'California sober,' " referencing Demi Lovato's similar remarks about being sober. "The minute I put a mind-altering substance in my system, I'm off and running."
Ken says he tried alternative sobriety methods 35 years ago, admitting, "I tried to smoke pot and I was off my drug of choice, and within months I back on my drug of choice, crystal meth." But the 58-year-old believes that these comments "take away the chance for people to get real sobriety by putting a band aid on it and promoting that and saying that’s what it is and creating this, you know, this recovery that isn’t even reality."
"It's just harmful. It's harmful," he stresses. He goes on arguing that The Weeknd is just avoiding the real issue with his take on sobriety, explaining, "He wasn't willing to do the deep work that's necessary to get into recovery. That's what he says...in the article."
Ken further points out what sobriety does mean. "But the point being is that, you know, here he is promoting sober light for all the people that could create harm for. But the bigger picture here is that sobriety is really for years…, sobriety has always meant abstinence from mind altering substances," he says. "So to create that you could have a little bit of alcohol, that's not sobriety, so take that word out of it. If you want to say you're in recovery, many people have harm reduction, different paths of recovery, but it's not called sobriety, and that's where I have problem with it."
During his interview with GQ, The Weeknd described himself as "sober lite" after years of using hard drugs and alcohol as coping mechanisms. "I like sober lite," he told the magazine. "I'm not a heavy drinker, as much as I used to be. The romance of drinking isn't there," he added, before confirming that he still smokes marijuana.
The "Save Your Tears" crooner claimed that "all other drugs have been eliminated" though. He said, "No. Drugs were a crutch. It was me thinking that I needed it. And not doing the work to figure out how not to need it." He added of his journey to this point, "And I've spent the last few years realizing that and thanking God that I don't need it. Because for a lot of people, it's hard to shake it. But I knew I didn't want it."
Demi previously made similar comments on their YouTube docuseries "Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil". Instead of abstaining from all drugs, they said that they still uses marijuana and drinks alcohol following their 2018 near-fatal overdose.
Defending themself against the backlash, the "High School Musical" star told "The Zach Sang Show", "It's not saying that this works for everybody, but it's saying that that other solution isn't a one-size-fits-all solution and there's options."
"For me, I've decided that I'm probably never going to discuss the parameters surrounding my recovery and what that looks like," she continued explaining. "Because when I do get into details with people, it just kind of opens myself up for more scrutiny than I need. The only criticism I need is from my treatment team, and if what we're doing right now is working for me, then I'm gonna keep it between me and them."
