Ice-T is speaking candidly about the devastating toll of fentanyl following the deaths of Coolio and Michael K. Williams.
In his new documentary Fame & Fentanyl, the hip hop icon addressed how drug use claimed the life of his longtime friend Coolio, who passed in 2022 at 59 after an accidental overdose involving fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine. “Coolio was healthy. I know he didn’t want to die. He spoke freely about it, but that’s the thing,” Ice-T said. “If you’re doing drugs recreationally, you’re not trying to take your own life. Recreation is a game, but this is no longer a game.”
The death of actor Michael K. Williams, best known for his role on The Wire, hit Ice-T just as hard and underscored how widespread the epidemic has become. “When it hit Coolio and it hit Mike, that was the nail in the coffin. That’s when you go, ‘Yo, this shit is real.’ You know what I’m saying? It’s real,” he explained.
Although Ice-T and Williams never collaborated, he revealed they had planned to. “We had never worked together, but we had planned to. I hoped to work with him. When people die of fentanyl, it’s like they got hit by a car, like they got shot,” Ice-T continued. “This is a person who’s healthy, and tomorrow they’re outta there.”
The Law & Order: SVU star also shared that while he has never used drugs, addiction has still touched his life through loved ones. “I don’t do drugs, but I never expected it. Everyone has someone in their life who has been affected by fentanyl. These are the narratives that everyone should be aware of,” he told Entertainment Weekly.