NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: 'And Just Like That' actor Bobby Lee candidly shared how his time filming alongside Sarah Jessica Parker played a significant role in his decision to embrace sobriety. During a recent episode of Rachel Bilson's 'Broad Ideas' podcast, Lee shared a harrowing incident in Hawaii where he was heavily intoxicated, and his agent urgently called him to inform him that he needed to travel to New York.
"When I was using, this is the most horrifying thing, I was in Hawaii and I was blackout drunk and my agent calls and said ‘They need you in New York,’" Lee, 51, said on Monday, July 24, adding, "This is one of the reasons why I’m sober. I remember going [to set on 'And Just Like That'] and being so high and drunk and when I was reading the script I couldn’t even understand what they were saying."
'That could’ve been a career ender'
Le expressed, "It was a nightmare. I remember saying this is never going to happen again. It’s insane how our disease gets, you know. That could’ve been a career ender." When Bilson, 41, inquired if Parker was aware of what was happening during their filming together, Lee said, "No, she was leaving to France the next day so I had to [keep filming.]"
Is Bobby Lee an alcoholic?
Lee's struggles with substance abuse began at a young age, when he started using methamphetamine and marijuana at 12, followed by heroin at 15. After three visits to a rehab, he became sober at 17. However, he relapsed on Vicodin after receiving negative feedback from a producer, breaking his 12 years of sobriety. He became sober again with the support of MADtv producer Lauren Dombrowski, who fought for him after he was fired from the show a second time.
On the pilot episode of Comedy Central's TV series, 'This Is Not Happening,' Lee candidly discussed the story of his journey to sobriety. In a conversation with guest Theo Von on 'TigerBelly' episode 224, Lee revealed that he relapsed after his father's death in August 2019 due to Parkinson's disease. Following this setback, he sought rehab and successfully became sober again. Lee has openly shared that he was a recovering alcoholic, acknowledging his ongoing journey towards maintaining sobriety.
