Famous singer and musician Jack Antonoff said he experienced a near-fatal mushroom trip while grieving his sister’s death, and he never wants to go down that road again.
Antonoff said the experience changed his life and he has since stayed away from drugs altogether.
“I never wanted to be out of control again,” he said during Tuesday’s interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. Antonoff revealed that when he was 18 years old, his 13-year-old sister, Sarah, died of brain cancer. He admitted the grief was overwhelming for him, and he turned to drugs during his darkest days.
“I was in a band, and we were touring a lot, and I was obviously just so fucked up emotionally that I took a whole bunch of mushrooms one night with some friends and I completely freaked out,” he said. “I completely lost my mind.”
Antonoff explained how deeply he was affected by the scary mushroom trip.
“And I think it was a combination of how much I took and the grief and, the long story short is I was so fucked up from that experience that to this day I feel allergic [to drugs],” he told Lowe on the podcast.
The talented musician went on to reflect on the numerous times that he used drugs before this one incident went too far. He reflected on a time that he and his friends would “get really fucked up” before the fentanyl epidemic raised their awareness of the risks involved in their actions.
Jack Antonoff attends the 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards at STAPLES Center on January 26, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
“I’m grateful that I made that stupid mistake because a lot of my friends struggled. I know a lot of people who have struggled and continue to struggle,” Antonoff said.
“So I got lucky that my rock bottom was more one that was mixing psychedelics and grief and not, you know, needles and fast cars and whatnot.”
LONG BEACH, CA – SEPTEMBER 07: Jack Antonoff of Bleachers performs onstage during Spectrum Presents Bleachers Powered By Pandora at Cafe Sevilla on September 7, 2016 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Rachel Murray/Getty Images for Pandora Media Inc.)
Jack Antonoff of Bleachers performs onstage during the 2017 Governors Ball Music Festival – Day 1 at Randall’s Island on June 2, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Steven Ferdman/Getty Images)
Jack Antonoff performs onstage during the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 27, 2017 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
Antonoff admitted this was a significant learning experience that now impacts the decisions he makes on a daily basis. He said he was “grateful” for the “profound” mushroom trip that ultimately set him straight. (RELATED: Michael Bublé Says He Was High On Shrooms During Interview, Walks It Back Afterward)
He admits to still having “a drink or two” but said the experience made him realize he “never wanted to be out of control again.”