Nicki Minaj is opening up about her past “addiction” to Percocet that started following a prescription from her doctor.
The “Anaconda” rapper got candid for the December issue of Vogue, where she revealed her past Percocet use that started after she sought medical treatment for her menstrual cramps.
“No one told me that this was a narcotic and this was addictive,” Minaj shared. “Luckily, I was able to ground myself. But — once an addict, always an addict.”
She added, “I feel like if you’ve ever experienced addiction to anything, which I have, you always have to think twice and three times about the choices that you make.”
Minaj went on to note the history of addiction to prescribed medications that have taken the lives of many greats in entertainment.
“Look at some of our biggest celebrities. They eventually either get laughed out of wanting to go outside anymore, like Michael Jackson, or criticized, like Whitney Houston, or they fight silent battles, like Prince,” she said.
“These are some of the greatest of all time. And one day, they decided, ‘You know what? I’d rather self-medicate and be in my own world.’”
The “Super Freaky Girl” rapper says her father, Robert Maraj,’s addiction to crack cocaine during her childhood also widened her perspective on substance abuse. Maraj died in a hit-and-run accident in February 2021.
“I feel like I will always consider myself to be just like my father,” she said of her past addiction. “I think about watching my father go back and forth, and I just wish that at the time, I understood that he wasn’t doing it because he wanted to.”
She continued, “Now I realize those people weren’t making those choices because they wanted to hurt their family. Addiction took over their bodies and their lives. They were victims, too.”
Minaj’s new album, “Pink Friday 2,” releases on Dec. 8.
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