Andrew Gillum, the former mayor of Tallahassee and Democratic candidate for Governor of Florida in 2018, announced he plans to enter rehab after being caught up in an incident in which police found him and two other men in a Miami hotel room where one of the men overdosed and crystal meth was strewn across the floor.
In a statement Sunday evening, Andrew says since his race for governor ended, he fell into a depression that led to alcohol abuse.
He makes no mention of the crystal meth found in the room, however in his initial statement following the incident he said he did not partake in the crystal meth — just alcohol.
Andrew also makes no mention of the fact that his friend who overdosed, known escort Travis Dyson, contradicted his initial statement of celebrating a wedding during the time of the incident.
Read Andrew’s full announcement below:
“After conversations with my family and deep reflection, I have made the decision to seek help, guidance and enter a rehabilitation facility at this time. This has been a wake-up call for me. Since my race for governor ended, I fell into a depression that has led to alcohol abuse. I witnessed my father suffer from alcoholism and I know the damaging effects it can have when untreated. I also know that alcoholism is often a symptom of deeper struggles. I am committed to doing the personal work to heal fully and show up in the world as a more complete person.
I now need to firmly focus on myself and my family. I will be stepping down from all public facing roles for the foreseeable future.
I want to apologize to my family, friends and the people of Florida who have supported me and put their faith in me over the years.
I ask that you respect my and my family’s privacy during this time. Thank you.”
Everyone knows that after you get caught up in some mess the first PR step is to admit you have a problem and go to rehab. Unfortunately, we don’t believe alcohol abuse is the real issue Andrew needs to work on though.
