This past December marked the two-year anniversary of Juice WRLD’s death. The prospering young rapper was just 21 years old when he passed away following a drug overdose in late 2019 at Chicago’s Midway International Airport.
via: XXL
Juice’s mom, Carmela Wallace, appeared on The Tamron Hall Show, which aired on Tuesday (Jan. 11), to reflect on the death of her son, who died of an accidental drug overdose on Dec. 8, 2019, and to share a message to parents on talking to their children about drugs.
During the conversation, Ms. Wallace stated she was concerned about enablers in Juice’s inner circle that weren’t helping him in the right way.
“I just felt like his best interest wasn’t being looked out for,” she said. “I think people had their own agendas and they liked the lifestyle. And they were young, too, so they don’t see things the way we see them. But he just didn’t have the people in place to tell him to stop. He didn’t have that support system in place.”
Ms. Wallace acknowledged that she knew her son was a drug addict and she would often talk to Juice about his drug usage and mental well-being.
“He couldn’t hide it ’cause it was in his music,” she explained to Tamron Hall. “But we were at a point where we could talk about it. We still had that relationship where we felt comfortable talking about it. And I told him of my fears of him overdosing. I encouraged him to speak with the psychologist he used to speak with ’cause I arranged where they could have a mobile conversation.”
“But he was 19 and he knew everything,” she continued. “And the people around him…some of them would reach out to me. But not the inner, inner circle. They were scared.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Ms. Wallace urges parents to have open conversations with their children about drugs and don’t judge them when they are asking for help. “They are struggling, they are crying out,” she said. “And they need someone who is going to listen to them that they can trust.” Ms Wallace also added, “Listen, without judging.”
Ms. Wallace launched the Live Free 999 foundation, which helps raise awareness to the challenges young individuals face when it comes to mental health and substance dependency. She spoke with XXL for the winter issue of the magazine to discuss the mission of the foundation, memories of Juice, his struggles and his music career, which you can read here.
Watch Carmela Wallace’s interview on the Tamron Hall Show below.
