Yahoo Finance Big Brother 's Jackson Michie Reveals He Was Secretly Recovering from Drug Addiction on the Show
Jackson Michie/Instagram Jackson Michie
Jackson Michie is getting candid about his once-secret battle with drug addiction.
The reality star, 25, won season 21 of Big Brother in 2019. He recently revealed on TikTok that he was struggling with addiction while on the show.
He captioned the video, "My most terrifying post yet. I hid addiction from the world, won the show, and won back my life."
Responding to a video asking for a "one-in-a-million" story that you "can't believe happened to you," Michie said that he had a stress-induced blood clot removed less than a month before joining the show.
Sonja Flemming/CBS Jackson Michie on Big Brother 21 on July 3, 2019.
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He added that in addition to surgery recovery, he was faced with addiction recovery during those 100 days in the Big Brother house.
"Before going into Big Brother, I was addicted to Xanax, struggled with Adderall and cocaine, and I took my last Xanax less than two days prior to moving into this show," he shared. "At the age of 23, I literally went through Xanax rehab, post-surgery recovery, on national television for 100 days and beat 15 people to be the winner of Big Brother 21."
In a follow-up video, Michie said that he doesn't just use TikTok for fun. He also uses the app for accountability and staying clean.
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"I want to use my platforms to hold myself accountable," he said. "I don't want to go back down the same paths that I've been down and and live the same life that I've lived."
He continued, "I'm holding myself accountable, putting myself out there with no wiggle room to f--- up now."
Since then, Michie has posted more videos about his struggles, captioning one video "Feels good to be free of some demons" and reminding his followers in another post that it "is possible to change."
"It is possible to be better," he captioned a video about his life then versus now. "And God will always forgive you."
In June 2020, the Big Brother season 21 winner — whom fans and costars accused of being occasionally racist during the reality series — posted a video apology on Instagram, admitting that he has made "a lot of mistakes" in his past.
"So, I turn 25 this Saturday, on June 13, and over the past 24 years, I've made a lot of mistakes," he began the video message. "And these past few weeks, these past posts, I've made a lot of mistakes. And it is my fault and I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not being educated enough to understand that I will never understand what it's like to be African American, to be a person of color, to be black in this country and in this world."
"I will never understand that, but I stand with you, and I am sorry," he concluded. "Black lives matter, and I am sorry."
Speaking to PeopleTV in September 2019 after his victory, Michie said while he admittedly "can rub people the wrong way," he is "the least racist person I know."
"I own up to my mistakes — I was wrong in a lot of areas," he said at the time. "I know that there's a lot of people that like me in this country and there's a lot more people that don't like me, and I'm okay with that, but the things that bothered me were those two [accusations]: disrespecting women and racism, because those are two things that I don't stand for."
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, please contact the SAMHSA substance abuse helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
