Actress Delta Burke recently admitted to using crystal meth for weight loss.
The Designing Women star went on the Glamorous Trash podcast to discuss her 1998 memoir, diet culture, and society’s criticisms of women’s bodies.
During her conversation with host Chelsea Devantez, Burke revealed that while studying acting in London, she was prescribed pills that “made her heart race” but helped her lose weight.
However, when she returned to the U.S. and asked her doctor for a refill, she discovered the drugs — which were called “Black Beauties” — were actually illegal.
While filming Filthy Rich in the 1980s, Burke was able to find a connection who got her more Black Beauties. When taken in the morning, the pills helped Burke lose her appetite throughout the day.
“They were like medicine to me,” she stated. “It wasn’t a recreational thing.”
After taking them for some time, however, Burke built a tolerance for them. A fellow castmate then recommended she try methamphetamine.
Actress Delta Burke Admitted to Taking Crystal Meth for Weight Loss
Once the Black Beauties were no longer working for her, Burke turned to crystal meth, which she’d known nothing about.
“Nobody knew about crystal meth at the time,” she told Devantez. “[They told me,] ‘You chop it up. You snort.’ I said, ‘I don’t want to snort it.’ So I put it in cranberry juice and [drank] it … and wouldn’t eat for five days.”
Even after taking such a strong and dangerous drug simply to achieve a certain appearance, it still wasn’t enough.
“They were still saying, ‘Your butt’s too big. Your legs are too big,'” she said. “And I now look back at those pictures and go, ‘I was a freaking goddess.'”
The pressure and criticism Burke received on the set of Filthy Rich ultimately caused her to leave the show. Her inability to handle the stress in turn made her feel weak.
“I thought I was stronger. I tried very hard to defend myself against lies and all the ugliness that was there and I wasn’t gonna win. I’m just an actress, you know. I don’t have any power,” Burke stated.
“I wish I had known — I wish that every young woman could know — she is beautiful,” she said. “She’s got power, and she doesn’t know it because they don’t want you to know it.”