Drew Barrymore, a veteran actress with over four decades in Hollywood, recently opened up about her past regrets, particularly her 1995 photoshoot for “Playboy.” In a heartfelt Instagram post on Friday, Barrymore reflected on her turbulent upbringing, how it has shaped her approach to parenting today, and the lasting remorse she feels about the photoshoot.
Barrymore began her message, titled “PHONE HOME,” by discussing the difficult experiences of her youth, marked by exposure to inappropriate and unsettling scenarios. “I was around plenty of hedonistic scenarios at parties and even in my own home where the viewing was of highly sensitive natures and caused me tremendous shame,” she wrote. “We, as kids, are not meant to see these images. And, yes, I was even a big exhibitionist when I was young due to these environments I was in. I thought of it as art, and I still do not judge it.”
Reflecting on her “chaste artistic moment” with “Playboy” in her early twenties, Barrymore admitted she never anticipated the images would resurface in today’s digital age. “I thought it would be a magazine that was unlikely to resurface because it was paper,” she confessed. “I never knew there would be an internet. I didn’t know so many things.”
Now a mother to two daughters, Olive, 12, and Frankie, 10, Barrymore is determined to protect them in ways she wishes she had been protected as a child, particularly in the age of social media. “I wished many times when I was a kid that someone would tell me ‘no,’” she wrote. “I wanted so badly to rebel all the time, and it was because I had no guardrails. I had too much access and excess, and eventually ‘no’ actually became a challenge.”
Barrymore, who was emancipated at 14, described how she began her life independently at a young age. “I started my life over on my terms. But in a consistent message to myself, I found that there was no one to take care of me,” she explained. Reflecting on her relationship with her own mother, Barrymore expressed newfound empathy, stating, “My own mother was lambasted for allowing me to get so out of control. I have so much empathy for her now, because I am a mother. And none of us is perfect.”
As a mother, Barrymore is deeply aware of the dangers her children face today, mirroring her own past challenges. “I cannot believe I am in a world that I know correlates to my own personal pitfalls and many of my peers who got into too much, too soon,” she noted. “Kids are not supposed to be exposed to this much. Kids are supposed to be protected. Kids are supposed to hear NO.”
Barrymore also highlighted the potential harm of group texts and the lasting impact of digital interactions. “We must protect our children from being put in scenarios where they cannot always control the rhetoric of the multiple-party dynamics that get put on record on a cloud only to potentially haunt them one day,” she advised.
Barrymore reflected on her highly publicized mistakes as a young teenager, recalling when she was labeled a “washed-up tragedy” at just 13 years old. “I was on the cover of the ‘National Enquirer’ and every other magazine,” she remembered. “I thought that would be my narrative forever. I wanted to disappear from the planet and never show my face again.”
Despite her challenges, Barrymore has continually worked to rebuild her life. “I put one foot in front of the other and put my life back on track, only to make more mistakes along the way, but that is life,” she stated. “We make mistakes. And people have been so kind to me. Forgiven me. And cheered me on as I grew up.”
Concluding her post, Barrymore emphasized her commitment to encouraging others, echoing the support she has received throughout her life. “It is also my karma and life’s work to cheer people on right back!” she wrote. “We all fall and rise. Over and over. Life’s roller coaster. And what a beautiful ride it is.”
