Celebrity interviews can sometimes go off the rails, causing stars to admit more than they intended.
Pat Sajak, Jelly Roll and Kevin Costner’s latest interviews led to some wild confessions involving drugs and almost turning down a life-changing opportunity.
Here are the craziest celebrity confessions from this week.
‘WHEEL OF FORTUNE’ HOST PAT SAJAK SHARES REASON BEHIND HIS DECISION TO RETIRE FROM GAME SHOW
Pat Sajak
“Wheel of Fortune” could have been a whole different show, had Pat Sajak not changed his mind about hosting. Sajak took over hosting duties from Chuck Woolery, who left the game show in 1981. Sajak hosted the daytime version of the show from 1981 to 1989, while also hosting the nighttime version of the show, which fans associate him with, starting in 1983.
“When you work in L.A., in local TV, in a way you’re auditioning every night, because the producers are sitting at home watching TV in their underwear like everybody else,” Sajak joked in an Instagram video posted on the “Wheel of Fortune” Instagram page, in which he’s speaking with his daughter, Maggie Sajak.
“Anyway, ‘Wheel of Fortune’ had been on the air for seven years in daytime on NBC, and the host was leaving, and they needed a new host, and he asked if I was interested. And I swear, the first thought was ‘Yes there are three R’s’ is not exactly a career mover. Yeah, I know, shows you what I know.”
Sajak has hosted the show ever since, going on to become a household name. He announced he was stepping down from the show in June 2023, with the network revealing that Ryan Seacrest would be taking over from him, following his final show on June 7.
Kevin Costner
During a recent appearance on “The Armchair Expert” podcast, Costner told host Dax Shepard he had tried cocaine once, and that it was “kind of lucky” he didn’t enjoy it.
He went on to explain he had been persuaded to try the drug, while working as a stage manager at Raleigh Studios, at a time when he said cocaine was used instead of money for a job well done. He said that after some hard work, he was asked into the grip room, “and they put out a line of coke.”
“So, I do that and nothing. And I do it a second time. And I do it a third time,” he said. “And finally I said to them, I said, ‘Hey, look, how much is that?’ And he says, ‘That’s about $20 right there,’ and I said, ‘Can I say something to you?’ And he says, ‘Yeah, f—, of course, man, what?’ And I said, ‘Look, I’m trying to buy my first house,’ and I said, ‘If you think what I’m doing’s cool, I could use $20. I could take a $20.’ And I was out of the club immediately.”
“It was kind of lucky for me that I didn’t like coke,” he told Shepard. “There was nothing there for me.”
‘HORIZON’ STAR KEVIN COSTNER DOESN’T ‘JUST FALL OUT OF LOVE WITH THINGS I LIKE’
Evangeline Lily
Evangeline Lilly revealed that she is “so filled with joy and contentment,” as she is able to live out her dream, and “feel[s] so grateful for [her] blessings” after choosing to retire from acting.
“Stepping away from what seems like the obvious choice (wealth and fame) can feel scary at times, but stepping into your dharma replaces the fear with fulfillment,” she wrote on Instagram. “I might return to Hollywood one day, but, for now, this is where I belong. A new season has arrived, and I AM READY… and I AM HAPPY.”
The post featured a video of her on the set of “Lost,” telling cameras that in 10 years, she would “like to be a retired actress.”
“I would like to have a family, and I’d like to be writing and potentially, um, you know, maybe influencing people’s lives in more humanitarian way as almost everybody in the world now knows was my intention before I started the show,” she said in the video.
Michael Richards
During an interview on “Today,” Michael Richards reflected on his past behavior and on the changes he had made in his life after the night he had a racial outburst during a set at the Laugh Factory, sharing why he had chosen to exile himself from Hollywood.
“I’m probably more aware of myself,” he said. “Anger had a hold of me. I canceled myself out. Take an exodus, get away from show business and see what the heck is going on inside me to have been so despicable that night, losing my cool and hurting people.”
He went on to say he thinks he made amends with those he needed to, and is “getting to a place where [he] could forgive [him]self.”
In a previous interview promoting his memoir, “Entrances and Exits,” Richards says he is not “looking for a comeback,” saying he “was immediately sorry the moment [he] said it onstage.”
Jelly Roll
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During a recent conversation with Jon Bon Jovi for Interview Magazine, country singer Jelly Roll admitted that his past felonies have been an issue when it comes to performing overseas.
“I’m so excited. We’re figuring out the final pieces of some legal puzzles for me to get overseas,” he shared. “It’s funny, America has finally agreed to let me leave and give me a passport, but some countries won’t let me come because of my felonies. We’re working on that. I think it’s going to work in my favor.”
The singer has been transparent about his legal troubles in the past, telling Billboard in 2023 that he had served one year in prison and had been sentenced to seven years of probation after being arrested and charged as an adult with aggravated robbery and possession with intent to sell, when he was 16 years old.
Bon Jovi supported the “Save Me” singer’s right to perform in other countries, saying that “entertainers should be able to go and do their job” wherever they are. Jelly Roll acknowledges, however, that even by traveling outside his hometown of Antioch, he has gone farther than most people he grew up with.
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Jake Gyllenhaal
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Jake Gyllenhaal admitted to using his legally blind status as an advantage while acting. The actor has previously explained that he was born with a lazy eye, which corrected itself as he got older, and he has been wearing corrective lenses since he was six years old.
“I like to think it’s advantageous,” he told the outlet. “I’ve never known anything else.”
He added, “When I can’t see in the morning, before I put on my glasses, it’s a place where I can be with myself.”
According to the Snellen Eye Chart, a test used by most optometrists in the United States, Gyllenhaal has a 20/1250 prescription. The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) and the United States government determe a prescription of 20/400 to be low functional vision.