Michelle Williams Reveals She Was Depressed, Suicidal At Height Of Destiny's Child Success
Michelle Williams is speaking honestly about her mental health.
The "Say Yes" singer opened up about her battle with depression during her guest-host spot on CBS' The Talk on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017. During her candid appearance, the 37-year-old revealed she was suicidal at the height of her fame with R&B girl group Destiny's Child. While her struggle with depression began at only 13 years old, she explained that she didn't truly understand what it was until she reached her 30s.
"I'm in one of the top-selling female groups of all time, suffering with depression," Williams, 37, began. "I think at the age of 25, had I had a name to what I was feeling at the time, I would have disclosed that 'I've been suffering from depression.'"
"When I disclosed it to our manager [Beyoncé's dad, Mathew Knowles] at the time, bless his heart, he was like, 'You all just signed a multimillion-dollar deal. You're about to go on tour. What do you have to be depressed about?'" Williams continued. "So I was like, 'Oh, maybe I'm just tired.'" However, as Williams confessed, things eventually got "to the point where I was suicidal...and wanted out [of the group]."
The "Survivor" singer later took to Twitter to thank the show for airing this discussion and to encourage those struggling with similar mental health issues to seek the help they need. "Thank you @TheTalkCBS for being a safe place to talk about #depression #mentalhealthawareness!!" she wrote. "Don't be afraid to reach out for help!"
Williams isn't the only celebrity using her platform to normalize how our society discusses mental illness. This year alone, Demi Lovato spoke about her bipolar disorder, Zayn Mailk, Chance the Rapper, and Aaron Carter opened up about coping with anxiety, and SNL's Pete Davidson revealed his recent borderline personality disorder diagnosis.