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Lionel Richie reveals how Drew Barrymore and Nicole Richie almost 'killed him'

Drew grew up partying with fellow Hollywood kid Nicole Richie

Lionel Richie appears on Drew Barrymore Show
Rebecca Lewis
Rebecca Lewis - Los Angeles
ReporterLos Angeles
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Deadly Drew! Lionel Richie once feared that Drew Barrymore would "kill him" when she would party with his daughter Nicole Richie. The American Idol judge appeared on Drew's talk show on Thursday March 30 and recalled his memories of the girls' childhood in Hollywood, admitting that his side of the story is very different.

"Let me give you my side of the story. You all almost killed me. I’m so glad you got it out of your system," the Grammy winner shared. "I almost cut my system off! Some nights I would get a phone call from the sheriff of so-and-so county, 'We have Nicole here.' [I'd say], 'What did she do now?’ [And they replied], ‘She went down the wrong way on the freeway'." 

Lionel Richie reveals how Drew Barrymore and Nicole Richie almost 'killed him'

Nicole, Drew, and Paris Hilton were notorious party girls throughout the early to mid 2000s. 

"We’re part of this little girl wolf pack," Drew added, sharing that she believes "Nicole and I have figured out how to have so much fun and then pull it together and be really good moms". 

"I don’t even know how that happened," Lionel responded. "Because Nicole and Paris, let’s talk about it, when they started out… [but] if I can live through that, I can live through anything." 

Lionel is preparing to go on tour with Earth Wind and Fire, and Drew asked for tickets to which Lionel joked: "Nicole and Drew together [are] one big ham sandwich. I don’t even know how I’m going to take that backstage."

Both girls have grown up since their wild days, of course. Nicole and husband Joel Madden welcomed daughter Harlow in 2008. The couple, who tied the knot in December 2010, welcomed their son, Sparrow, in September 2009. 

Drew is mom to daughters Olive, ten, and eight-year-old Frankie with now ex-husband Will Kopelman, and Paris became a mom earlier in 2023 when she welcomed her son Phoenix with husband Carter Reum.

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