Michael K. Williams’ Memoir Reveals Actor Binged On Cocaine For Three Days Prior To Meeting Barack Obama For The First Time: I Was Embarrassed How Checked Out I Was

Michael K. Williams, Barack Obama

Michael K. Williams’ Memoir Reveals Actor Binged On Cocaine For Three Days Prior To Meeting Barack Obama For The First Time: I Was Embarrassed How Checked Out I Was

Recently deceased actor Michael K. Williams‘ coming memoir recalls his first interaction with former President Barack Obama.

Reportedly, an excerpt from the posthumous novel titled Scenes from my life, revealed The Wire star’s drug addiction kept him from being mentally present while meeting the then senator. Michael K. Williams passed away last September due to a laced drug overdose at the age of 54. The actor was vocal about his drug addiction for years, and his upcoming book reveals just how hard the battle had been.

A promo of the memoir recalls when Williams was invited to meet the then senator in Pennsylvania. Obama, a Chicago native who was a big fan of Williams‘ performance on The Wire, reportedly invited him to a town hall meeting during his 2008 presidential campaign. While the Lovecraft Country star remembers being shocked the senator knew who he was, he says he felt shame by his own “cluelessness”. The excerpt reads:

‘Wait, who’s this guy again? I was embarrassed how checked out I was about issues affecting my country.’

Michael K. Williams

Continuing, Williams goes on to reveal that he was “mentally” checked out of the meeting due to a prior cocaine binge. He wrote:

“I’d just come off a three-day cocaine bender and was whacked out of my mind….I couldn’t even put my words together. I was such a mess. Obama shook my hand and I could see it in his eyes. He was like: I don’t got time for this. He kept it moving. I was not in my right mind. I told people I was nervous but actually I had lockjaw from too much cocaine.”

Though the meeting was less than ideal, Williams did take something away from the “embarrassing” moment. Prior to his tragic death, the New York native spoke at schools about the trials and hardships of life and how to persevere. Additionally, Williams became a mentor to his nephew, and founded a non profit called Making Kids Win, to held provide more opportunities to teens in Brooklyn.

Williams also achieved wild success in his career. Months before his passing, the Screen Actors Guild award winning actor had just been nominated for an Emmy for his performance in Lovecraft Country. Williams memoir is set to hit the shelves later this month.

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