Richard Lawson Opens Up About the Night a Vision of Death Sent Him Straight to Rehab

Richard Lawson is known these days for his role in Tyler Perry’s Netflix drama“Beauty in Black,”but the veteran actor just shared a story from his past that’s getting a lot more attention than any script. In an interview with Fox 5 Atlanta’s Portia Bruner, Lawson revealed that he was freebasing cocaine with a famous friend when he had a revelation: he saw both of their deaths. That moment pushed him to check into rehab the very same day.

Lawson completed five months in the Adult Substance Abuse Program and has been clean since the early 1980s. Instead of walking away and staying quiet, he spent eleven years doing drug education and interventions for the NBA and its players union, helping athletes navigate the same struggles he faced. He’s also Tina Knowles’ex-husband, which means his name has been in pop culture headlines for years.

Through all of it, Lawson has never named the famous friend who was in the room that night. He doesn’t need to. The story of how one terrifying vision led to decades of sobriety and service speaks for itself. What do you think: does sharing recovery stories like this help people, or is it just celebrity content? Let us know in the comments.