Steve-O has now been clean for more than 14 years after celebrating the milestone at the end of January 2022. But the Jackass star has not always been a stranger to drugs, as his fans will well know.
A few years ago, the 48-year-old recently further revealed the depths of his addiction and recounted his drug use at its lowest, in a candid interview posted on YouTube.
Steve-O recounted how he once was so desperate to feed his addiction, he snorted the blood-soaked cocaine of an intravenous drug user, who was HIV positive.
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The beloved amateur stuntman and professional prankster sat down with Graham Bensinger on his YouTube show, In-Depth with Graham Bensinger, and told the story.
Steve-O began by remembering how his drug dealer ‘Everything’ got his name: "I had this drug dealer, he lived very close by. I had him in my phone as his first name and then ‘Everything’ as a sort of last name [because] he said, ‘I got everything’."
Everything was known to inject himself with cocaine, the TV star recalled, adding his dealer’s drug use would often result in blood splatter on the walls.
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One day, Steve-O, who had his first alcoholic drink at the age of eight, went to Everything’s house to buy drugs, and found his friend passed out.
The scene in front of him which he went onto describe, however, wasn’t enough to quell Steve-O’s appetite for cocaine.
The recovering addict continued: "Over at the table, where he would weigh out all of his drugs, there was a very noticeable residue of cocaine.
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"I went over to the table to scrape up a pile of cocaine to snort it, but as I had sat down looking at it, there was, of course, blood had been squirted.
"You could see, like, the little tiny little blood splatter on the residue.
"This is how desperate and pathetic my addiction was, that I sat there, like, knowingly scraping up this tainted, like, blood cocaine and I sat there and snorted it, which is so f**ked up.
"I snorted the blood of an intravenous drug user."
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Steve-O then stated he had known everything was HIV-positive.
But the TV personality, despite understanding the gravitas of his addiction and the risks it put him in the path of, didn’t seem worried about himself having contracted the virus.
He added: "At that point, I had already been through… I had HIV tests so many times. Over and over. It’s like all these years later. I just don’t have it."
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HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus which damages the cells in your immune system and weakens your ability to fight everyday infections and disease.
There’s currently no cure for those living with HIV, but it can now be controlled through medication.
The virus can be transmitted sexually – when the blood, semen, pre-ejaculate, vaginal, or anal fluids of an infected person enter the body of an uninfected person – and by sharing needles and other injecting equipment.
However, contrary to some beliefs, you can’t acquire HIV from hugging, saliva, kissing, sneezes, coughs, sharing baths or towels, from swimming pools, toilet seats, or from sharing toothbrushes, razors, cups, plates or cutlery.
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If you want friendly, confidential advice about drugs you can talk to FRANK. You can call 0300 123 6600, text 82111 or email 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Or Live Chat from 2pm-6pm any day of the week.
The UNILAD Team