The Public Enemy co-founder made a vulnerable admission to his fans about starting back at “day 1” on his sobriety journey.
Flavor Flav shared he “briefly relapsed” and explained that he wants to “hold myself publicly accountable.”
“I remain authentic to who I am and a large part of the past 4.5 years for me has been my sobriety journey. I think I’ve been an inspiration to many that if I could get sober, anyone can do it,” the Public Enemy co-founder, 66, said in a Thursday, April 3 post to his Instagram Stories.
Flav explained that he wanted to share his experience to help hold himself accountable and show how sobriety isn’t always easy even after being sober for years. He also noted that just because he relapsed, it doesn’t mean he is a bad person because people make mistakes.
“But just when you think it’s easy, it ain’t. I briefly relapsed,” he admitted. “I say this to admit my mistake and publicly hold myself accountable. I am a human being who makes mistakes and it doesn’t make me a bad person. I hope those who are around me support my choice to be sober.”
He continued, “I went back to Day 1, again. Time didn’t stop, my journey continues.”
“That’s how much I spent on drugs.”
In October 2024, the Flavor of Love star shared a video to Instagram marking four years of sobriety.
“October is an important month for my mental health,” he wrote. “Next week, I am 4 years sober from alcohol. And today is mental health awareness day. My mental health is an important part of my sobriety journey.”
Flav admitted during a January 2023 appearance on the Off the Record with DJ Akademiks podcast that he was spending “$2,400 to $2,600 a day” on drugs “for six years straight,” according to People.
“You do the math,” he said. “That’s how much I spent on drugs.”