Kelly Osbourne shares how she started taking heroin as a teenager following tonsil surgery

Osborne told the Red Table Talk that she relapsed on her almost four-year sobriety this year

(Facebook/Red Table Talk)

Kelly Osbourne has opened up about her addiction issues and how being given medication following tonsillitis as a teenager developed into a drug habit.

In a conversation on the Red Table Talk series, hosted by Willow Smith, Jada Smith and Jada’s mother Gammy Banfield-Norris, the 36-year-old spoke about her struggles with addiction.

Osborne revealed that an addiction to Vicodin, which had been prescribed to her by a doctor, later progressed to taking heroin, saying she eventually moved onto the Class A drug because it was “cheaper”.

Osbourne explained: “I then kept getting sick and I had a really bad case of tonsillitis. They ended up having to give me some crazy surgery, and then after that, they gave me Vicodin, and that was all I needed.”

Vicodin is an opioid prescription pain medication and Osbourne said taking the medication made her feel better about herself and quashed negative thoughts she was having, boosting her confidence.

She continued: “I went from having every voice in my head being like, ‘You’re fat, you’re ugly, you’re not good enough, no one likes you, you don’t deserve this, people only like you because of who your parents are.’

“And then all of a sudden, every single voice was silenced, and it felt like life gave me a hug.”

Osbourne explained how, from Vicodin, she moved on to Percocet - a combination drug that’s a mixture of the opioid oxycodone and pain and fever-reducing medications.

From Percocet, she eventually moved onto heroin “because it was cheaper”. Osbourne said she was caught buying it and was put into rehab the next day by her mum, Sharon Osbourne.

She also opened up about her alcohol addiction, revealing in April that, after being sober for nearly four years, she relapsed following a year of the pandemic.

The daughter of rock legend Ozzy Osbourne, explained: “I was alone, sitting by a pool and waiting for somebody to come have a meeting with me.

“And I saw this woman and her husband had a glass of champagne and it looked really nice and I was like, ‘I can do that, too.’

“And the next day, I had two glasses. And the day after that, it was bottles.”

Osbourne said she, her brother Jack, and her father have all had struggles with addiction but have been able to bond and have “turned something so ugly into something that’s actually really beautiful”.

Jack has been sober for 18 years and Ozzy has been sober for nearly seven years.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, you can visit Frank for support and advice. You can also call the Frank drugs helpline on 0300 123 6600.