Lily Allen says fame “became an addiction in itself”
Lily Allen has opened up about her relationship with the press, saying that fame once “became an addiction in itself”.During a recent interview with the New York Times, the singer-songwriter and actor questioned why she had agreed to speak to the publication when such situations often lead to “criticism”.Allen, who hypothesised that an element of narcissism could be at play, explained: “It’s been my life since I was like 18 years old.”Having struggled with binge drinking and drug abuse in the past, the ‘Smile’ star has now been sober for over four years.“From 18 to about four or five years ago just feels like a bit of a haze, because I was literally just off my face the whole time,” Allen told the NYT.“I was using fame as well — that was an addiction in itself: the attention and the paparazzi and the chaos.”During the early days of her music career, Allen explained how she had an “addictive personality”, but said that she “[didn’t] want to be hanging over a toilet seat snorting coke when I’m 50”.Allen spoke candidly about her sobriety back in March, saying that her life had “changed so much” in recent years.The artist obtained a court order to stop paparazzi following her around London in 2009, per the Guardian. “It’s not a very nice feeling,” Allen told the NYT, remembering the level of attention she used to get.