UPDATE: Andrew Gillum Announces He Will Enter Rehab
On Sunday, former mayor of Tallahassee Andrew Gillum announced that he would enter a rehab facility. The move comes right after he was named in a police report detailing an alleged overdose incident inside a Miami Beach hotel room where alleged bags of crystal meth were found.
RELATED: Andrew Gillum Busted For Meth And Found With Gay Male Escort
In the statement shared Sunday evening, Gillum explained that since his race for governor ended in 2018, he entered a depression that led to alcohol abuse. He did not mention the recent events in his statemnent but did say that he is committed to getting his life back on the right track.
“After conversation with my family and deep reflection, I have made the decision to seek help, guidance and enter a rehabilitation facility at this time,” Gillum said in a statement. “I now need to firmly focus on myself and my family. I will be stepping down from all public facing roles for the foreseeable future.”
He went on to say,
“Since my race for governor ended, I fell into a depression that has led to alcohol abuse,” Gillum said in his Sunday night statement, issued by a national public relations firm. “I witnessed my father suffer from alcoholism and I know the damaging effects it can have when untreated. I also know that alcoholism is often a symptom of deeper struggles. I am committed to doing the personal work to heal fully and show up in the world as a more complete person.”
As we previously reported, authorities identified a man named Travis Dyson, a gay male escort from the website RentMen.com. On the profile, he listed himself as a “pornstar performer” and offered several services. Dyson and the former mayor were found together in a drugged state at the Mondrian South Beach and officers say they did not arrest Gillum but he was unable to communicate due to being in “an inebriated state.”
According to NBC Miami, another man who has been identified as Aldo Mejias – was also with the guys and called rescue crews after he arrived at the hotel and found both Gillum and Dyson in an inebriated state. Mejias told officers he began performing first aid on Dyson after he collapsed and began throwing up on a bed while Gillum was throwing up inside a bathroom.
In his first statement, Gillum said he was in town for a wedding celebration and admitted to having too much to drink. However, he made it “clear that I have never used methamphetamines. I apologize to the people of Florida for the distraction this has caused our movement.”