Why Drew Barrymore Wrote Hugh Grant a Letter During the ‘Dark Days’ of His Sex Worker Scandal and Arrest — Even Though She Didn’t Know Him
Drew Barrymore showed her support for Hugh Grant during a time he called his “dark days.” Barrymore didn’t know Grant at the time but sent him a letter after his 1995 sex worker scandal and arrest.
Drew Barrymore wrote a letter to Grant during his ‘dark days’
When Grant appeared on The Drew Barrymore Show in May, the host recalled when they first met but backed it up to when she wrote him a letter long before they met in person. Grant was arrested with sex worker Divine Brown in 1995 for lewd conduct and Barrymore reached out.
“You were so nice,” Grant recalled. “It was during the dark days of my Divine Brown scandal. I was just an idiot. I was a grown-up idiot who got caught by the police.”
The actor continued, “I was back in England with 5,000 members of the press around the borders of my farm. And I opened a letter from you, that was very supportive and nice, and it was very cheering up. I thought ‘I love Drew Barrymore.’”
He added, “Words of support from an actress I didn’t know in Hollywood was lovely. So, you will always have a place in my heart.”
Drew Barrymore explained why she wrote the letter to Grant
Barrymore explained that she felt compelled to send a letter to Grant because she related to his situation on some level.
“I loved you so much. That whole incident — I related in my own life,” Barrymore shared. “I think that whether it’s an actor or a politician or anything in between, we expect people to be infallible, perfect, never flawed.”
Barrymore really understood the situation as a celebrity who has been under the microscope since she was a child. “And God forbid we do anything in our personal lives that we would like to remain personal,” she said. “But we don’t have that privilege at a certain point because the cat gets let out of the bag.”
She added, “I just had to reach out to you. I just appreciated you and you were just the most charming human.”
They finally met and co-starred in ‘Music and Lyrics’
The two went on to star in Music and Lyrics and both actors gushed about the experience.
“I loved getting to know you on our movie Music and Lyrics and it’s just one of my very favorite movies and it makes me so happy,” Barrymore said. “It was a good movie, it was a happy movie.”
Grant agreed, which is a tall order because, according to the actor, he sometimes loves to hate some of his movies. “It’s impossible to hate [Music and Lyrics],” he said. “We’re so good in it and so charming.”
He noted that they “had a bit of chemistry” together, which Barrymore agreed with, but she said their initial meeting had them wondering if they would find a common connection.
“We really did. And it was funny too because when Hugh and I met, you know, Hugh, you can be a bit of a curmudgeon from time to time, and I, of course, am like a Labrador in heat,” she said. “I’m so excited with joy and so when we both met, we were like, ‘Oh, we’re kind of different people.'”
They “got to know each other” during the movie and clicked. “We just used to sit around and laugh,” Barrymore recalled.
