Columbus Short Opens Up About Drug Abuse: ‘I Was Struggling’ [VIDEO]

Former ‘Scandal’ star Columbus Short made headlines when he was said to have allegedly attacked a man in a restaurant, and then reportedly threatened his wife a knife. He then parted ways with hit TV show ‘Scandal,’ and found himself in legal trouble again when he was arrested and charged with public intoxication earlier this year.

Columbus is just now opening up about a serious drug problem that resulted in his bout of legal troubles. In an interview with Access Hollywood, Columbus talks about it: “I’ll be candid. I was struggling with drugs. I had a lot on my plate and, you know, I was using unhealthy ways to self-medicate and deal with a lot of heavy duty stuff in my life.”

When pressed by the hosts of the show, Columbus admits which specific drugs he was taking: "I was doing cocaine and drinking a lot, and trying to balance a 16-hour work schedule a day and a family, and I just lost myself back then.”

He goes on to say that ‘Scandal’ show-runner, Shonda Rhimes, as well as his fellow co-stars did try to help as best they could: "And if we’re going to be fully transparent, they protected me and they held me down. And that was one of the real reasons – they just wanted me to get my stuff together. Sometimes the bottom has to get dropped out for you to really get it,” he said. “So I moved to Atlanta. I’ve been living there for the last five-and-a-half months, and it’s just been great. It’s been life-changing.”

When asked why he chose to self-medicate with drugs and alcohol he revealed a devastating loss in his life is what initially set him off: “It was numbing stuff. I was going through a lot in my marriage, I had a lot of loss. My best friend died, he killed himself, and that kind of started a spiral. I found out while I was on-set.”

He admits that being on ‘Scandal’ allowed him access to anything he wanted, furthering his downward spiral. Thankfully, he's moved on to better things, citing his music as being "life-changing" for him. He also wants to use his situation as a way to help other people who use drugs and alcohol as coping mechanisms.

We wish Columbus the best and hope he continues to live a positive, healthy life.