“It got too much to bear.”
Brita has opened up about her near-fatal overdose following months of harassment from online trolls.
During her run on the 12th season of RuPaul’s Drag Race earlier this year, the star was inundated with online abuse from so-called ‘fans’ due to her on-screen relationship with fellow contestant Aiden Zhane.
“One person told me that if he saw me on the subway platform he would push me in front of a train if it was coming because he didn’t like me on @rupaulsdragrace,” she revealed at the time.
“I know who I am. I am a good person with a good heart. We are all human we make mistakes. I hope these people see their mistakes and change. We are all going through it. Try to lead with kindness.”
Brita deactivated all of her social media channels in August – except for Instagram – and told fans that she’s “getting the help I need so I don’t kill myself,” and that her assistant “will be posting work related stuff on Instagram when necessary.”
In a new interview on the Sean L. Show, the NYC-based performer went into more detail about how the ordeal affected her mental health.
“I would go onto social media and there would be hundreds and hundreds of messages every single day. It got too much to bear,” she told Lyons.
“When someone starts to tell you you should kill yourself or how horrible of a person you are… You can try to brush it off, but it starts to get to you over time.”
Brita couldn’t take the constant barrage of hate anymore. “I tried to hurt myself. I woke up on the floor in my room after doing an entire 8 ball of cocaine and drinking an entire bottle of Tito’s and taking every drug I had,” she continued.
“I threw up and I was passed out on my floor the next day. And I knew that I had to do something ‘cause I was going to hurt myself. And so I had to take a step back.”
Brita is currently with her family in Hawaii, focusing on her mental health and sobriety. She was recently announced as the co-chair of Drag Out The Vote, a nonprofit organisation that sees drag entertainers educating and registering voters.
The star will also reunite with her season 12 sisters for Bring Back My Ghouls, a Halloween variety special from World of Wonder which will include lip-sync performances and a special message from RuPaul.
“We’re all going through it because this pandemic sucks and it’s changed our lives so much,” she continued to tell Lyons. “I’m happy. Well, I’m getting there. I’m healthy, I’m with my family, I’m in beautiful Hawaii.
“I’m grateful that I have this platform where I can make a difference and I can make a change and I can also be that hope for other people.”
You can listen to Brita’s podcast on the Sean L. Show here on Apple Podcasts.