The Weeknd graced GQ magazine’s first-ever global cover issue, where his candid conversation about his sobriety has captured attention online.
The “Save Your Tears” singer mentioned that he’s “sober-lite” and still consumes alcohol occasionally saying, “I’m not a heavy drinker, as much as I used to be. The romance of drinking isn’t there.” Abel immediately added that he still smokes weed, but all other drugs have been eliminated.
“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. 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.”
He also mentioned that he eventually wants a family. “I know I say I don’t, but I know I do. I want children,” he said adding that “having children would influence me and inspire me more.”
As we previously reported, Demi Lovato recently came out saying that she was “California sober” with handling recovery (smoking weed and drinking alcohol in moderation) and how she is able to control it. She explained that abstinence doesn’t work for everyone, noting that total sobriety has “not worked for every single person who’s tried it. When I’m feeling like the floor is falling out from underneath me, I was like, ‘It’s just a shame I don’t have something that I could lean in towards in those moments. I don’t understand why I can’t just pick up a joint.'”
Ken Seeley, from the long-running series Intervention voiced his disagreement on Abel’s approach to sobriety, “They have millions and millions of followers and they’re out there promoting this new sobriety and it could be really harmful,” said Seeley. “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.’ The minute I put a mind-altering substance in my system, I’m off and running.”
What do you think about the definition of Sober being changed by celebrities? https://t.co/KBtYmC5pXY @ Ken Seeley https://t.co/3Fz2EvDpiC
— KenSeeley (@KenSeeley) August 2, 2021
GALLERY: The Weeknd Through The Years
