Rocker Tommy Lee reflected back on the height of his alcoholism and admitted he was drinking two gallons of liquor a day.
The Mötley Crüe drummer expounded on his love-hate relationship with drinking on Bill Maher's Club Random podcast, and declared "Alcohol’s such a f'king weird one.”
Lee continued:
“It’s easy to fall in love with, the way it makes you feel, the way it makes you relax, and then all of a sudden you’re, like, ‘F'k! I’m drinking two gallons of vodka a day?’ You’re trying to kill yourself now.”
“Your liver is on crutches at that point; it’s just barely functioning."
Maher was dumbfounded by Lee's admission of having imbibed "two gallons" of vodka per day, and asked for clarification:
"Eight bottles of liquor? Are you sure? For how long?"
Lee responded:
"For a long time."
To which a stupefied Maher commented, "Your liver must be made of asbestos."
"I pinch myself on a daily basis," said Lee about being able to survive to tell his story.
Tommy Lee says he used to drink 2 gallons of Vodka daily, but is now healthy— Daily Loud (@Daily Loud) 1697500681
The 61-year-old rocker, along with his metal band peers, has had a history of substance and alcohol abuse during the 1980s.
But lately, he is in a better place.
Lee said he was recently amazed by his clean bill of health and thought the results were from another patient.
Lee recalled:
“I just did the full body scan, where they do head-to-toe everything, and I can’t believe―smoking, drinking, all the f'king dumb sh*t, or the fun sh*t that I’ve done."
“Dude, the doctor was, like, ‘You’re good.’ And I was, like, ‘Are you sure you have the...?"
"Let me see. Is that my name on there, or is there some Japanese guy in here that you have his results that you’re reading from?’ Because I find that f'king impossible."
"This is impossible.”
Tommy Lee just celebrated 1 year of sobriety but used to drink 2 gallons of Vodka a day. \n\nWatch the full episode w/ @billmaher here: https://t.co/l9FJgLnyoz— Club Random with Bill Maher (@Club Random with Bill Maher) 1697468395
Fans weighed in in response to his eye-opening statements.
@ClubRandom_ @billmaher My sobriety date is January 5th, 2019. I\u2019m sincerely happy for Tommy Lee!— deHart Reed (@deHart Reed) 1697489518
@ClubRandom_ @billmaher How all the members of M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce survived and live to this day is nothing short of a miracle.— Nick (@Nick) 1697474540
@ClubRandom_ @billmaher Oh Tommy\u2026 blessed in so many ways.— dracula (@dracula) 1697470082
@DailyLoud When you realize Tommy Lee has more lives than a cat— MILZY...\ud83d\udc7b (@MILZY...\ud83d\udc7b) 1697500854
@DailyLoud I believe it. Being a rockstar is a crazy life. Almost an impossible profession to stay sober in IMO— The Manager (@The Manager) 1697500771
Incredulous fans thought it wasn't possible to consume that much liquor and live to tell their stories.
@ClubRandom_ @billmaher That\u2019s about 78 shots.\n\nThat\u2019s not physically possible. \n\nHe is misremembering . . . Which is not surprising. Drunk people don\u2019t have the greatest memory \ud83d\ude0f— Richard (@Richard) 1697539644
@ClubRandom_ @billmaher If he ever starts drinking again, he'll be dead. I'm not a doctor but i have a hunch that the body, once you put it on the right track, doesn't tolerate that kind of abuse a second time around.— Rickety\ud83d\udd49\ufe0fShaman \u262e\ufe0f (@Rickety\ud83d\udd49\ufe0fShaman \u262e\ufe0f) 1697473638
@ClubRandom_ @billmaher 2 gallons is about 8 liters of wodka. No person can take that. Not even trained alcoholics.— Edmond (@Edmond) 1697496987
@ClubRandom_ @billmaher Average person has 5-6 liters of blood in their body. 2 gallons is 7.5 liters— Hasp0din (@Hasp0din) 1697508358
@ClubRandom_ @billmaher YA.. NO... I THINK HE SPILLED A LOT.. DROPPED A LOT .. WASTED TWO BOTTLES A DAY FOR SURE.. 1.75 LTR BOTTLES.. NOT TWO GALLON BOTTLES.. NOT SURE THEY EVEN SELL VODKA IN GALLON JUGS— JBird (@JBird) 1697472549
@ClubRandom_ @billmaher No way his pancreas came out unscathed— Dave (@Dave) 1697469918
@DailyLoud— Richard Heaton (@Richard Heaton) 1697502486
@DailyLoud i asked my doctor chatgpt:\nconsuming 7.6 liters of vodka in a day would likely result in immediate life-threatening effects, including the risk of coma and death due to respiratory failure, before long-term organ damage fully sets in. Even if an individual survived the initial\u2026— Lawbster (@Lawbster) 1697550011
In October 2020, which marked a year of Lee's sobriety at the time, he opened up about his drinking in an interview with Yahoo Entertainment.
He explained that during an idle period after the last Crüe tour, he drank "just out of boredom."
"I had all this time at home, not touring, just being at home. I did what I told you."
"I just enjoyed being home. I literally did nothing. I would just float around drink and just f'king drink.”
“I didn't notice it until towards the end of it, when I was like, ‘Oh dude, I’ve got to stop."
“I would just wake up and be just building, just all vodka and just a little eyedropper of cranberry or lemonade."
"I was drinking two gallons—not pints, not quarts, but gallons, the big-handles.”