Columbus Short has admitted to drug use being the cause of the demise of his career.
In an interview with Access Hollywood Live, the actor said he used cocaine for “numbing” purposes during tough times.
“I’ll be candid: I was struggling with drugs,” the 32-year-old admitted. “I had a lot on my plate, and you know, I was using unhealthy ways to kind of self-medicate and deal with a lot of heavy duty stuff in my life… I was doing cocaine and drinking a lot, and trying to balance a 16-hour work schedule a day, and a family and I just lost myself back then.”
After exiting the Scandal cast and being charged with battery and spousal abuse, Short says he has been coping with this rough time by doing music.
“I had to move, and my therapy really was my album. Working on my album changed my life,” he said. “Music changes things, and that is a fact. And, you know, writing it out. And I have a lot of crappy songs that I wrote, that are just like me ranting, and then I have great [ones], and I put together a great EP with the team, [and] that’s how I got through this.”
Watch the interview below.