Drew Barrymore Blasts Tabloids for Reporting She Wishes Her Mom Was Dead

The actress and daytime talk show host jumped on her Instagram later in the day on Monday after the profile was covered by multiple outlets to set the record straight with a no-holds-barred video that excoriated the coverage.

"You know what? To all you tabloids out there, you have been f---ing with my life since I was 13 years old," Barrymore said. "I have never said that I wished my mother was dead. How dare you put those words in my mouth!"

"I have been vulnerable and tried to figure out a very difficult, painful relationship while admitting it is difficult to do while a parent is alive," offering the context she tried to express in the interview. "And that for those of us who have to figure that out in real time, cannot wait as in they cannot wait for the time -- not that the parent is dead."

"Don't twist my words around or ever say that I wish my mother was dead. I have never said that, I never would. In fact, I go on to say that I wish that I never have to live in an existence where I would wish that on someone, because that is sick."

The line that appeared to get the attention of the media was when Barrymore said she sometimes felt jealous of friends whose moms have died. "All their moms are gone, and my mom's not. And I'm like, Well, I don't have that luxury. But I cannot wait."

She immediately followed that up with the clarifying line (cited below), "I don't want to live in a state where I wish someone to be gone sooner than they're meant to be so I can grow. I actually want her to be happy and thrive and be healthy. But I have to f---ing grow in spite of her being on this planet."

Drew Barrymore has always been pretty upfront about her complicated relationship with her parents and while she's still hesitant about meeting up with her mom Jaid anytime soon, the two did have a recent breakthrough via text.

The talk show host had a pretty therapeutic interview with Vulture, in which she detailed her strained relationships with both her late father John Drew Barrymore and mother Jaid. While her dad was barely around, Barrymore paid for his hospice care before his death in 2004 and scattered his ashes. She also emancipated herself from her mother when she was a teenager -- with Vulture noting the pair "never fully reconciled" in the years since, though Barrymore supports her financially.

"I know that must be so hard for my mom. It's like she gets all the heartache and he gets given a free ticket," Drew told the publication.

"I don't want to live in a state where I wish someone to be gone sooner than they're meant to be so I can grow. I actually want her to be happy and thrive and be healthy. But I have to f---ing grow in spite of her being on this planet," she added.

The 48-year-old actress went on to express some regret for those comments almost immediately, circling back to them to tell reporter E. Alex Jung, "I dared to say it, and I didn't feel good. I do care. I'll never not care. I don't know if I’ve ever known how to fully guard, close off, not feel, build the wall up."

After the interview, Barrymore went on to text the profile author about a recent message she sent her mom for her birthday this year, a message which sparked a pretty emotional response from Drew.

"I texted my mom for her birthday and she told me she loved me and she was proud of me. I don’t care how old you get or how big your mission is when your mom tells you she loves you, you revert back to small," Barrymore said. "And the fact that she loves me with my truth and my honesty is the best time I have ever heard her say it."

In a followup interview for the profile, Barrymore said that her daughter Olive went so far as to suggest Drew meet up with her mother ... though that might take some more time to work up to. "I was like, 'Maybe we will, Bear. Maybe we will. I have to leave you with a maybe,'" she recalled.

Drew would later tell the reporter that she was "really excited" to share how she's "done some serious work" on herself since they first spoke. "I forgive my mom. I forgive my dad. I've never forgiven myself, but I'd like to and I'm ready to," she added.

Elsewhere in the piece, she also pointed to godfather Steven Spielberg as "the only person in my life to this day that ever was a parental figure."

Read the full profile here.