Marie Claire Magazine just ran this story about Fergie and her work to help with awareness that might help slow down the spread of HIV. She went to Harlem United to talk to women who told her their stories of drug addiction, rape, and AIDS-which is now the leading killer of African-American women ages 25 to 34, according to Nancy Mahon, senior vice president of MAC. After hearing the stories, she told the women that since they had told her their stories, she would share her own. Here’s what she told them:
“I was a child actor. I was this spaz kid diagnosed with ADHD, and I worked all the time. I got on a TV series, Kids Incorporated; I was like a little adult. And years later, because I would try to people-please, I would hold all these feelings in. Then all of a sudden, I just didn’t feel creative. And crystal meth came into my life.”
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Nods went around the room. “When I had that first hit, I knew I wanted to feel that way every day,” Fergie said, studying the faces around her. “I went on a downward spiral. I lost friends, family. Anyone who disagreed with my way of life, I cut them out.” She then fessed up that the money from her TV show had helped fund her habit. “But at some point, I spent it all. I started getting paranoid. I thought, The FBI is after me. I had about 20 different conspiracy theories,” she laughed. “I painted the windows in my apartment black so ‘they’ couldn’t see in.”
Things went further downhill from there. “One day, when I was about 90 pounds, a guy comes up to me,” Fergie said, lowering her voice. “I’m searching in the bushes for clues about whatever the FBI is after me for. I’m in some random getup-I think it was a cowboy hat and red lips-because I never knew if someone was taking my picture. He hands me a muffin. I’m thinking, He’s in on it. Is there a message inside? So I tear it up. Looking back, I realize he assumed I was homeless.”
The Harlem women smiled at this-they were seeing a decidedly unglamorous side of celebrity life. Fergie, perched on her armchair, continued. “A few weeks later, I’m at a farmer’s market, when I hear church bells. I’d seen in some movie that they can’t arrest you in a church, so I head straight to the nearest one. The attendants try to kick me out. Then I see a fire hydrant. I think, I can squirt them and run. But then I think, If you do this, you’re going to jail.”
Thank goodness that Fergie saw a way to reach out for help. And thankfully, she had the courage and strength to do the work to get out of the day-to-day terror of drugs. She’s doing important work and I hope she is able to have a positive impact.
For more information, see macaidsfund.org.
Fergie, Fergie Ferg, Stacy Ferguson, black-eyed peas, black eyed peas, black-eyed-peas, hip hop, fergalicious, the duchess, glamorous, Clumsy, Finally, MAC AIDS
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