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In a recent interview, Lamar Odom addressed Liam Payne’s passing, reflecting on his own struggles with the alleged substances found in the singer’s system. He expressed hope that the tragedy serves as a wake-up call to others.
Trigger Warning: This article mentions drugs and death.
Lamar Odom, former NBA star and a recovering addict, weighed in on reports that Liam Payne had multiple drugs in his system at the time of his passing on October 16. For those who may not know, a partial autopsy for the One Direction member, per ABC News, suggested he was allegedly under the influence of pink cocaine—a recreational drug, typically consisting of a mix of methamphetamine, ketamine, and MDMA—along with cocaine, benzodiazepine, and crack when he fell to his death from the third floor of his hotel balcony in Buenos Aires.
When approached by TMZ for comment on Payne’s toxicology report, Odom, 44, recalled his past experiences with substance abuse and said that he believes he has used pink cocaine before. “I’ve done a lot of things. I’m not ashamed, though, because it’s my testimony,” he said.
The retired basketball player was famously hospitalized in 2015 after an overdose and has been sober for several years. He now owns recovery clinics.
Recounting that drugs made him “hallucinate” and “hear voices”, particularly when using crack, the athlete noted, “If [Payne] was in a hallucinatory state, then who knows what would happen.” During his TMZ interview, Odom was asked if he thinks the alleged drugs in Payne’s system contributed to his tragic passing. He replied, “Well, I mean, if you’re hearing voices, then it’s hard to escape those voices, so God forbid if those voices told him to do something that led to his fate. That’d be a shame.”
He mentioned that while he heard voices during his own substance abuse, he was strong enough to endure the effects.
Odom told the outlet he would be saying a prayer for Payne, his family, and everyone who knew him. He also expressed hope that the tragedy serves as a wake-up call for everyone in the industry—Hollywood, music, sports—that drugs don’t discriminate.
In details emerging shortly after the Teardrops singer’s demise on Wednesday, a 911 call made by the hotel’s management revealed that a guest [supposedly Payne] was acting erratically in the hotel lobby and vandalizing things when he was conscious. The hotel staff also mentioned in their call that they feared for the said guest’s life, as he was staying in a room with a balcony.
Minutes after the call, Payne’s body was recovered from the inner courtyard of the CasaSur Palermo Hotel. Buenos Aires emergency services chief Alberto Crescenti stated that the singer had already succumbed to “serious injuries” from the fall when his team arrived.
Disclaimer: If you know someone who is struggling with alcohol or substance abuse, please reach out to the authorities and report it. There are several helplines available for the same.
PINK VILLA