Kerry Washington has revealed that suicidal thoughts, rather than her relationship with food, prompted her to seek treatment for her eating disorder. The 49-year-old actress, known for her role in Scandal, spoke candidly on the Call Her Daddy podcast about the mental health crisis that led her to get help.
Washington, who first disclosed her binge eating disorder in 2020 and detailed it in her 2023 memoir Thicker Than Water, explained that she was using food as a “tool not to be here.” She said: “I was in a real mental health crisis. The thing that actually got me to get help with my eating disorder wasn’t the food itself, wasn’t the behaviour with the food. It was the suicidal ideation.”
The actress, who stars in the new Apple TV+ series Imperfect Women, described the challenge of managing an eating disorder, noting that unlike other addictions, one cannot simply abstain from eating. “You have to be in relationship with this thing that is so challenging to engage with,” she said.
Washington, who developed the disorder in her teens, previously described it as a “toxic cycle of self-abuse” involving starvation, binge eating, body obsession and compulsive exercise. While she is now in a much better place, she acknowledged that she still needs to “check herself” occasionally, but emphasised that suicidal ideation is no longer present.
If you are struggling with issues raised in this article, contact the Samaritans on 116 123 (UK and ROI) or email jo@samaritans.org. For eating disorder support, call Beat on 0808 801 0677 or visit eating-disorders.org.uk.
