Drew Barrymore spent his 46th birthday on Monday talking about the distressing details of his 18-month stay in a psychiatric ward at age 13. (Watch the video below.)
“You couldn’t play there,” the actor told Howard Stern on his radio show. “If you did, you would be thrown into the padded room or placed on stretcher restraints and tied.”
Barrymore said he sometimes channeled his “internal riot” to incite other patients to rebel.
The “ET” and “50 First Dates” star said she forgave her mother, Jaid Barrymore, for putting her there.
“I used to go to clubs and not go to school and steal my mom’s car and, you know, it was out of control,” she said, for People.
“She created a monster and didn’t know what to do with the monster, and this was her last breath. And I was really out of control. And I forgive you for making that choice. She probably felt like she had nowhere to turn. “
Barrymore, who had previously discussed being institutionalized after drug addiction and attempted suicide, achieved his mother’s legal emancipation at age 14. She told Stern that they are now in contact after a long absence.
“We sent a message this morning,” she said. “I am very happy that there is a cure there.”