Today, Michelle Williams was a guest on CBS’ “The Talk,” where she opened up about her personal relationship with depression. The former Destiny’s Child singer said that she struggled with depression since she was a teenager. “For years, I’m in one of the top-selling female groups of all time suffering with depression,” she said. Williams said she didn’t understand what she was going through until she was in her thirties. Despite efforts to talk to her manager Mathew Knowles at the time, Williams continued to struggle. “It got really really bad…to the point of I was suicidal,” she said. “I was to that place where it got so dark and heavy because sometimes you feel like ‘I’m the provider, I take care of people, I’m not supposed to be feeling this way—what do I do?’ I wanted out.” The experience inspired Williams to speak out and “normalize this mental health discussion.” Watch her story in full below.
Williams has joined a growing group of artists fighting for mental health awareness. Sinead O’Connor has publicly shared her battle with mental illness and has taken steps to talk about the subject in a public forum. Last year, Kid Cudi checked himself into a rehabilitation program for depression and suicidal urges, posting an honest statement on Facebook about his mental health.
Read “Therapy Is Gangsta: Hip-Hop’s Views on Mental Health Are Evolving” on the Pitch.
