If Only You Knew: Patti Labelle Helped Lee Daniels Overcome Drug Addiction

Patti LaBelle is out here baking pies and saving lives. According to Lee Daniels he got clean and stopped doing drugs thanks to the singing legend.

“Patti LaBelle was the cause of my sobriety. I called her one night at 3am – it was when I was doing Precious [in 2008], and I kept rambling at her,” he told The Guardian. “She said to me, ‘You know God and you know Jesus,’ and I said, ‘Are you really gonna ruin my high now? What are you talking about, lady?’ But I said a prayer and that was the beginning for me.”

Daniels also admitted that his new film The United States vs. Billie Holiday is the first film he’s directed sober. When we caught up with him, and the films’ star Andra Day, he spoke about having empathy for Holiday who was addicted to heroin and wanting to tell her story.

Meanwhile Andra dropped 39 lbs , began drinking and smoking to portray the jazz icon. So what was her favorite song to sing?

The United States vs Billie Holliday is set to release on Hulu on February 26.