Denzel Washington Opens Up About 15-Year Battle with Alcohol

• Denzel Washington revealed that his journey with alcohol consumption, describing it as a “fifteen-year pattern” that started subtly but evolved into a regular habit.
• Washington also opened up about experimenting with drugs in his youth.

Hollywood legend , Denzel Washington has opened up about his 15-year struggle with alcohol.

In an interview with Esquire, Denzel Washington described his wine consumption as a gradual habit that began subtly but escalated over time, fueled by his extensive wine cellar.

He reflected on how his wine collection became a source of indulgence, leading him to splurge on expensive bottles.

The actor also discussed experimenting with drugs in his youth, clarifying that he never developed a dependence on substances like heroin or cocaine.

Washington pinpointed his turning point as approaching 60, when he decided to quit drinking entirely.

He emphasized that now he is 70, he is only focused on his legacy, contemplating his goals for the next chapter of life.

He said:

“Wine is very tricky. It’s very slow. It ain’t like, boom, all of a sudden.

“And part of it was we built this big house in 1999 with a ten-thousand-bottle wine cellar, and I learned to drink the best. So I’m gonna drink my ’61s and my ’82s and whatever we had. Wine was my thing, and now I was popping $4,000 bottles just because that’s what was left. And then later in those years I’d call Gil Turner’s Fine Wines & Spirits on Sunset Boulevard and say, Send me two bottles, the best of this or that.

“I’m sure at first it was easy because I was younger. Two months off and let’s go. But drinking was a fifteen-year pattern. And truth be told, it didn’t start in ’99. It started earlier.

“I’ve done a lot of damage to the body. We’ll see. I’ve been clean. Be ten years this December. I stopped at sixty and I haven’t had a thimble’s worth since. Things are opening up for me now—like being seventy. It’s real. And it’s okay. This is the last chapter—if I get another thirty, what do I want to do? My mother made it to ninety-seven”.