Delta Burke Admits to Using Crystal Meth for Weight Loss in the '80s Due to Scrutiny Over Her Appearance
Delta Burke confessed that during the '80s, she resorted to using crystal meth because she felt so much pressure to maintain a slim figure.
April 22 2024, Published 7:30 p.m. ET
Legendary actress Delta Burke confessed that she once resorted to using crystal meth because she felt so much pressure to maintain a slim figure, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Making a rare guest appearance on the podcast Glamorous Trash on Friday, Burke, 67, opened up about her struggles with weight loss during her TV and movie career.
Before she rose to fame on the '80s CBS sitcom Designing Women, Burke starred in the series Filthy Rich on the same network, from 1982 to 83.
The actress rose to fame on the '80s sitcom 'Designing Women.'
Burke told podcaster Chelsea Devantez that she had been prescribed pills in London that were referred to as "black beauties," and "made my heart race."
She said the pills made her lose weight, but she was unable to get them in America because they "were illegal." That's when she turned to a drug dealer, but said it "wasn't a recreational thing."
When the "black beauties" were no longer effective because she "built up a tolerance," the actress revealed she was given crystal meth.
Burke has kept a low profile in recent years, and made a rare guest appearance on the podcast 'Glamorous Trash' on Friday.
She recalled mixing the meth into cranberry juice and drinking it before going to work on Filthy Rich, saying she "wouldn't eat for five days."
“And they were still saying, 'Your butt's too big. Your legs are too big,'" Burke continued, "and I now look back at those pictures and go, 'I was a freaking goddess.'"
The sitcom star said the "ugliness" of the press ultimately drove her to "remove" herself from "public life."
Burke said her husband, Gerald McRaney, has helped her through difficult times.
"They treat serial killers kinder than they do if you put on some weight," she said.
"As I got heavier and as things turned incredibly ugly," Burke recalled. She became "too emotionally fragile to handle" the industry, calling it a "double-edged sword."
"I had everything I'd ever wanted. Great money, wonderful people to work with. But the flip side was, it will kill you," she said.
"All of a sudden one day it was like, the joy of acting left me," she said, adding that she "was stunned."
Burke's husband of 34 years, Gerald McRaney, was nearby during the interview and said his wife had "wonderful curves."
The actress said her husband's support got her through the difficult period. They have moved out of Los Angeles and live in Orlando, Florida.
Burke and McRaney moved out of Los Angeles and now live in Orlando, Florida.
Burke and McRaney met on the set of Designing Women, which earned the actress two Emmy nominations.
She went on to appear in hit series like Women of the House and The Love Boat and acted alongside Mel Gibson in the 2000 film What Women Want.
Burke also had a lead role in the 1985 movie A Bunny's Tale working with Kirstie Alley, another star who was open about being scrutinized over her weight.
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In her 1998 memoir and women's style guide, Delta Style: Eve Wasn't a Size 6 and Neither Am I, Burke recounted her struggles with weight loss and self-esteem.
She said on Glamorous Trash that she feels the entertainment business is "far more accepting of size" today than it once was.
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