Denzel Curry on his porn addiction: “That shit deteriorates your brain”
Denzel Curry has forged a career out of an aggressive rap style that deals with some gnarly subjects. But away from the mic, Curry has, on occasion, revealed a more vulnerable side of himself.
In a clip that appears to have been originally shot for 16Bars.TV some years ago, the Miami rapper is asked by an interviewer about his “vices,” specifically about whether or not he has ever managed to stop watching porn. He honestly replies that no, he hasn’t.
“I’m telling you man it’s hard,” he went on. “It’s a hard journey. It’s a hard journey. That’s for real. I’m trying, though. I’m trying. But it’s really a hard journey, though.”
The Florida rapper then spoke about some of porn’s more deleterious effects on people, putting forward an argument as to why it’s worth quitting it. “Because,” he said, “that shit deteriorates your brain.”
Quitting, though, isn’t so simple. “It’s really hard,” he said, before comparing a porn habit to a full-on drug addiction. “It’s an addiction to a certain degree,” he insisted. “Porn is an addiction. You got people that’s addicted to that shit.”
Denzel mentioned another celebrity who had previously spoken out about his own struggles with porn addiction. The actor Terry Crews, who had to go to rehab because of it, has very publicly opened up about his struggles, which, at their worst, nearly led to the collapse of his marriage.
“My wife was literally like, ‘I don’t know you anymore. I’m outta here,’” Crews once revealed in a video posted to Facebook. “And that changed me. Because you realise, ‘Yo, this is a major, major problem.’ I literally had to go to rehab for it.”
Denzel Curry, clearly, had taken note of Crews’ honesty in discussing the difficult subject. “Terry Crews once said he was addicted to it,” he said. “Because it’s something you just look at. You can just look at the stuff. It’s a very addicting thing.”
Denzel clearly took the subject of porn addiction seriously, even though it remains a taboo subject that is not necessarily considered with the solemnity that it calls for. “Porn is an addiction,” he repeated, before looking hopefully ahead to his own relationship with it. “But don’t worry—that shit is going to be wiped out.”