Publicly declaring your sobriety—recovering out loud—is a fairly new concept. Not so long ago, people were more reserved about being out and proud about their recovery. That’s not surprising considering substance use disorder is one of the most stigmatized mental health conditions in the world. In some circles, it’s still frowned upon to talk publicly about certain parts of your recovery (ahem, “attraction rather than promotion”). Celebrities, however, don’t necessarily have the same choices. News outlets constantly plaster celebrities’ rock bottoms across the internet and magazine covers. Some celebrities, however, boldly share their recovery seeing it as an opportunity to help others. And we can’t seem to get enough.
Why are we so fascinated with sober celebrities?
I asked my friends on Facebook what they found so interesting about sober celebrities, and while my feed doesn’t speak for the entire recovery community, it does contain a lot of recovering individuals, proponents of harm reduction, and allies whose wide range of perspectives I value.
Celebrities validate recovery and destigmatize addiction
Sober celebrities are a source of validation that someone is navigating the same life challenges we are. “It’s representation. It’s affirming and reassuring to see something about yourself represented in culture or popular culture,” says Hannah. And, in sharing those stories of recovery, celebrities help to destigmatize addiction by demonstrating that substance use disorders can happen to anyone. “Something that has often been perceived as shameful or abnormal, and when shrouded in privacy, allows harmful stereotypes to persist,” says Hannah.
Sharing stories of recovery in mainstream media can also encourage recovery. “It can be inspirational to people in recovery or pursuing recovery to see their favorite artists or comedians or actors being open about sobriety in front of a large audience and living a life we might aspire to,” she said. Another great benefit is that sobriety on this scale provides common ground. “It’s also going to lower the barriers or tension in mixed company if your sobriety comes up and the other person is more immersed in a culture with John Mulaney or Macklemore or Demi Moore or Danny Trejo or Mary J Blige, etc., all bringing a more heightened awareness of all the ways recovery can look,” Hannah concluded.
This is one of the big reasons we have published several posts about sober celebrities on this blog.
Celebrities model recovery and what’s possible
As many folks in recovery will attest, a lot of people didn’t have a healthy home environment or mentors to show us that recovery is possible. Celebrities can serve as that example. “I think it’s helpful when people have celebs in recovery to look up to, because people don’t always have positive role models or have an idea of what recovery can look like,” said Gabe.
Another great aspect of sharing recovery-related stories is the rise in expansive pathways of recovery. Another friend (also called Hannah) told me that when the media offers substance and quality information, her ears perk up. For her that means experiences with or options for addiction that strike her as unique. “For example, Claudia Christian and her TEDx talk about targeted use of naltrexone (i.e. non-abstinence based) and The Sinclair Method (TSM)—now that caught my eye!” Hannah explained.
“Ironically, when I first watched it, I snubbed my nose really, thinking that I ‘got sober’ without medications and put in the work. Little did I know TSM was going to massively impact my life. And the fact that one incredible woman in the public eye spoke so openly about it had a lot to do with that,” she said. Hannah believes that Claudia’s advocacy promotes this alternative recovery option across the globe. And I’m all for that.
The criticized side of celebrity recovery
While it is inspiring to see celebrities get sober, some aspects of celebrity recovery create controversy and highlight the gross inequity in access to care. For instance, when celebrities share their stories they don’t represent the barriers to recovery. “Regardless of what path of recovery one chooses, celebrities have so much money and resources, and that just isn’t realistic for most people,” says Julia. “They get privacy—if they want it—surrounding their use and recovery, access to harm reduction, can afford treatments, access to meds, mental health care, which most people cannot do some or all of and that.”
Julia makes a fair point. Recovery isn’t available to everyone and only 13 percent of people with substance use disorders access treatment. This highlights that, as with any press, you must take these stories with a grain of salt. We don’t know the resources or recovery support many celebrities have easy access to.
The same rings true with recovery goals. Just like the recovery community the type of goal differs among celebrities, and we may want to be mindful of that while following their lead.
“It’s like James Clear says in Atomic Habits: we imitate those that are close to us, what most people are doing, and the powerful,” says Naomi.
However, she warns “It’s a double-edged sword, though. On the one hand, it’s like ‘Oh cool, this person I admired for another reason has chosen sobriety!’ But also if they are like Drew Barrymore, who I read said ‘Yes, I’m alcohol-free but I’m not sober. I do other stuff and that’s none of your business,’ … then I feel like, dang it.” That comment made Naomi wonder if Drew used marijuana, and, for Naomi, cannabis was a big problem in her addiction. “I personally had a big problem with weed for 20 years and I AM sober. So now I don’t know if I relate to her anymore,” she says.
Echoing that sentiment is the criticism of celebrities declaring they’re “California Sober” like Demi Lovato famously once did, when she said she was sober from alcohol but smoked weed. To some people in the recovery community that doesn’t count as sober. Others, like myself, disagree. Adam pointed out that using the term “sober celebrities” is problematic. “Look what happened when a celebrity came out as California sober. Just as anywhere else, we need diverse representation instead of representation only from privileged groups,” he said. Adam reminds us that diverse representation “matters that much more on stage or under the spotlights.”
William White, a well-known recovery researcher, author, and consultant, co-wrote an article with Bill Stauffer, also a recovery advocate, trainer, and writer, about the importance of being a “public custodian of recovery” rather than taking the stage as a “recovery rockstar.” They argue that by being a custodian, you’re showing that recovery is possible and you’re advocating for the collective, rather than risking a great fall from notoriety. However, there is also a rather paternalistic 12-step undertone to this article, in which they remind us of the principles of “good recovery” which they believe is grounded in “humility, open-mindedness, and inclusion.”
I agree that one should always be mindful of the stories we tell and that we should use our platforms for social good. However, I’m also conscious that we have no control over the media. Celebrity, by its very nature, portrays sensationalized versions of reality.
I also firmly believe that true inclusion is social justice. To me, that means focusing less on how I am perceived—or whether I embody dominant recovery ideological values—and instead focusing my efforts on highlighting the inequities within communities impacted by substance use disorders and the barriers to treatment. It’s also crucial to underscore that recovery exists on a continuum of harm reduction not a hierarchy with abstinence at the top.
We each get to define our recovery goals and labels.