It was a tragedy when TMZ reported on Friday that the rapper Mac Miller had died of an apparent overdose at only 26 years old. After the loss of rising rapper Lil Peep in 2017 and reports that Demi Lovato almost overdosed just a few months ago, the fatal consequences of young artists’ substance abuse has become increasingly prevalent in the last year. But almost instantly, it became clear there would be another conversation about Miller’s death; it became clear his ex-girlfriend Ariana Grande would be blamed for it.
TMZ’s initial report insinuated that Grande was at fault when they implied that Miller’s drug usage increased in the wake of their highly publicized breakup. In the original version of their report (caught by former Jezebel writer Madeleine Davies) TMZ wrote, “Miller has had trouble recently with substance abuse … in the wake of his breakup with Ariana Grande.” But anyone who has been paying attention to Miller’s career can tell you that he has long struggled with substance abuse. He has often told reporters about being addicted to promethazine (aka lean) and using cocaine. In 2014 he rapped that “a drug habit like Philip Hoffman will probably put me in a coffin.”
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
