On a recent episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, Drew Barrymore was joined by Billy Idol, 69. Drew, 50, told the musician that when she thinks of him, she thinks of the times they partied together in the 1980s. A picture of them at the club together was displayed on the screen behind them — and served as a reminder that Drew was just a child when she had that kind of lifestyle.
Drew has been open about her history of substance use. In the Hulu documentary Child Star, Drew revealed that she “used to get high with my mom’s friend at like, 10.” At age 9, she started drinking alcohol. By age 12, she was using cocaine. She first went to rehab when she was just 13 years old.
All that said, it’s probably not too surprising that Drew was going to clubs when she was just a kid. She even had her 10th birthday party at a club in New York City, she previously revealed on her show.
“I went to Limelight, I had my 10th birthday party at Limelight,” she said in 2024. She added, “I had been going to clubs for three years at that point. I went to Studio 54, I went to Limelight, I went to Nell’s. You name it, I was there.”
Still, seeing the photo of Drew partying with Billy Idol when she was 11 years old was jarring to some fans. On Reddit, one fan called it “concerning” that Billy was an adult and still “fine” with spending time with a child at the club. But many others pointed out that at that point in time, Drew might’ve been using more drugs than Billy was in spite of their age difference.
To one fan, it was simply “sad.” “So sad seeing pictures of young Drew, when you know how badly her parents/other adults who were supposed to guide and protect her failed her, repeatedly,” another person wrote on Reddit.
“The sad thing is that she was probably as equally stoned as he was,” a second person wrote. “I applaud her success as an adult.”
Reacting to a clip of the interview on Instagram, one critic commented, “We’re ignoring the fact that a grown man was partying with a child? Or am I missing something.” Attempting to offer some insight, one person wrote back saying “at least it looks like Billy was just having fun with her when her parents should’ve had her at home.”
When Drew and Billy thought back to their “old club days,” they couldn’t remember much, but they had fond memories of nightlife in New York in the ’80s.
“Please, control room, tell me you have the picture of me and Billy at Limelight, the club,” Drew said on the show before the photo of the two of them at the club was displayed on the screen. “Yes! I mean, Billy, that is where I see us when I think of you in my mind is back in the old club days. What the hell do you remember from those days?”
“Not very much,” Billy admitted. Drew didn’t remember much either — but revealed that she only has positive memories of Billy. “The only thing I knew was that I loved you, I got to hang out with you, we were obviously playful and silly,” she told him.
They later reunited when Billy appeared in the 1998 rom-com, The Wedding Singer, and even on her talk show, Drew said she felt like no time had passed.
“I’m really a little speechless. I’m really in a very nostalgic sort of avalanche in my mind,” she said. “I was saying — Billy and I were talking in the break — it just doesn’t feel like any time has gone by. I feel like we’re back in the club, we’re at The Wedding Singer, we’re doing our thing. You don’t look any different. You look good!”
