Drew Barrymore says she 'almost felt nervous and bad' about 'Charlie's Angels' casting for lack of diversity
Drew Barrymore sits down with actress Nia Long to discuss the "Charlie's Angels" casting and how she and fellow producer Nancy Juvonen "almost felt nervous and bad" about the lack of diversity in the film.
Drew Barrymore is clarifying comments she made in a recent interview about her relationship with her estranged mother, Jaid Barrymore.
"You know what, to all you tabloids out there, you have been f--king with my life since I was 13 years old," Barrymore said in an Instagram video on Monday. "I have never said that I wished my mother was dead. How dare you put those words in my mouth."
"I have been vulnerable, and tried to figure out a very difficult, painful relationship, while admitting it is difficult to do while a parent is alive, and that for those of us that have to figure that out in real-time, cannot wait as in they cannot wait for the time. Not that the parent is dead."
"Don't twist my words around or ever say that I wish my mother was dead. I have never said that. I never would."
She added, "In fact, I go on to say that I wish that I never have to live an existence where I would wish that on someone because that is sick."
Drew Barrymore and her mother are estranged, but the actress still financially supports Jaid. (Getty Images)
Barrymore, 48, became emancipated from her mother at the age of 14 and struck out to live on her own. The actress previously told Jeannette McCurdy, who titled her own memoir "I'm Glad my Mom Died," she couldn't speak all of her truths because "certain people are alive."
The actress said she doesn't have the luxury of her mother being gone in the same way as McCurdy and Brooke Shields, whom she's also interviewed.
"All their moms are gone, and my mom’s not," Barrymore told Vulture. "And I’m like, ‘Well, I don’t have that luxury.’ But I cannot wait. I don’t want to live in a state where I wish someone to be gone sooner than they’re meant to be so I can grow. I actually want her to be happy and thrive and be healthy. But I have to f---ing grow in spite of her being on this planet."
Within an hour, Barrymore expressed regret over what she said.
"I dared to say it, and I didn’t feel good," the "Charlie's Angels" star explained. "I do care. I’ll never not care. I don’t know if I’ve ever known how to fully guard, close off, not feel, build the wall up."
The interview, part of which was conducted before Mother's Day, also featured a separate conversation with Barrymore that happened at a later date. Barrymore revealed she had texted her mother a simple "happy birthday" message, and her mother responded saying she was proud of the actress.
Drew Barrymore has maintained that her relationship with her mother was more like that of two best friends. (Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
Drew Barrymore poses for a photograph June 8, 1982 with her mother Jaid Barrymore. (Getty Images)
"I was really excited I could tell you I’ve done some serious work and I do feel different. I forgive my mom," she told the outlet. "I forgive my dad. I’ve never forgiven myself, but I’d like to, and I’m ready to."
Barrymore has been candid about her relationship with her mother, whom she financially supports to this day. She told Norm MacDonald in 2018 that their relationship was more like a "best friend."
"She was like, 'Do you want to go to school and get bullied all day, or do you want to go to Studio 54?' And I was like, 'Yes, absolutely!'" Barrymore recalled.
Drew Barrymore became emancipated from her parents at the age of 14. (Getty Images)
"The Drew Barrymore Show" host has emphasized that her emancipation was "necessary."
"When I got emancipated by the courts at 14 years old, the umbilical cord was severed, and I have not been the same since," she wrote in a Mother’s Day blog post. "It was necessary for me to step away and start to become my own person. And at the age of 14, my own parent."
Jaid Barrymore, pictured above in 2000, and Drew Barrymore both thought the emancipation was "necessary." (Getty Images)
Trending
Who's making headlines in television, music, movies and more from Hollywood to the Heartland.