Cara Delevigne’s Vogue Exclusive Raises Questions About How Addiction is Represented in the Media

Cara Delevigne made a stunning comeback at the 95th Oscar’s ceremony earlier this month. The British actress and model dazzled in a gorgeous red gown with an elaborate diamond necklace and matching earrings. After several months of hiatus, her elegant glamBOT debut represented an iconic return to the public sphere. 

Delevigne’s appearance at the high-profile event was a delightful surprise for many of her fans. Only a few months ago, pictures of the star looking disheveled outside of the Van Nuys Airport sparked concerns for her health. The photographs ended up being a harsh but necessary wake-up call for Delevigne, who has since admitted that they prompted her to address her struggle with addiction and depression.

Delevigne opened up about her experiences in a recent Vogue exclusive, citing the importance of community and support in her recovery process. Her admirable transparency combats the stigmatizing cultural narratives often accompanying topics such as addiction and mental health. Delevigne’s candid discussion of her struggle with substance abuse explicitly calls attention to the damaging effects of isolating media narratives, thus paving the way for a more beneficial conversation on the nature of addiction and recovery. 

When the pictures of Delevigne at Van Nuys Airport first went viral, the media was overflowing with concern for the star.  Her recent return to the public sphere denotes a sort of public absolution. The publicity that accompanied Delevigne’s experience with substance abuse is not uncommon among high-profile celebrities. 

Wealthy white celebrities in particular tend to be portrayed in a redeemable light, and the context of addiction is no exception to this trend. While Delevigne’s frank discussion with Vogue is a step in the right direction, it opens up important questions about how social perceptions of substance use and abuse vary depending upon an individual’s gender identity and socio-economic, racial or ethnic background. 

Stigmatizing perceptions of drug use are historically associated with specific populations to achieve political ends. Black and brown populations are especially vulnerable to such damaging narratives. This is often a mechanism by which dominant (a.k.a white) groups can justify the institutionalization of dehumanizing and marginalizing policies. This is what has contributed to the over-policing of marginalized neighborhoods which are home to majority-BIPOC populations. 

Delevigne’s redemption arc within the public eye mirrors that of other white celebrities who have struggled with substance abuse and addiction, including John Mulaney, Demi Lovato, Drew Barrymore and countless others. Black and brown celebrities who have undergone similar experiences do not often receive the same levels of empathy and grace as their white counterparts. 

Whitney Houston is a prime example of this cultural double-standard. Houston’s substance abuse was often weaponized against her, with the media portraying her struggles as a sort of moral shortcoming. This implicit association of substance abuse with moral degradation obscures the reality that addiction is a disease while upholding dehumanizing racial narratives. 

Delevigne’s recent Vogue exclusive still represents a significant step towards dispelling the negative and isolating connotations surrounding addiction. Even so, the way substance abuse is perceived by the public remains incredibly dependent on one’s racial and ethnic identity. As a result, it is important that we remain critical of how the media portrays addiction and substance use in general.