Video Shows Ledger at Hollywood Drug Party
In a video shot in 2006, Heath Ledger claimed he smoked "five joints a day."
Jan. 30, 2008 -- A grainy video, shot in January 2006, shows Heath Ledger at Hollywood's Chateau Marmont, surrounded by people snorting, what appears to be, cocaine off a coffee table.
"I'm going to get serious s--- from my girlfriend, we had a baby three months ago," Ledger says in the video. "I shouldn't be here at all."
Although "Entertainment Tonight" aired multiple clips from the video Wednesday and said they would show more of it Thursday, Wednesday night, a spokesperson for the show told reporters, "Out of respect for Heath Ledger's family, 'Entertainment Tonight' has decided not to run the Heath Ledger video being released to the world media today."
While Ledger isn't seen doing drugs in the video, he does say, "I used to smoke five joints a day for 20 years."
In its upcoming issue, People magazine alleges Ledger did cocaine on multiple occasions at the Chateau Marmont.
"People who hung out on the same nightlife circle as Heath certainly know that he used cocaine," the magazine's Jess Cagle told "Entertainment Tonight." "When they were staying at the Chateau Marmont a couple years ago, he would be in the lobby, acting very fidgety, acting very distant."
According to "Entertainment Tonight," Ledger's ex-fiancee, Michelle Williams, and young daughter were in an upstairs room at the hotel when the video was shot. A copy of the tape was obtained by Australia's Channel Nine.
Also on "Entertainment Tonight," addiction specialist Dr. Drew Pinsky said he and many Hollywood insiders had seen the video.
"It's heartbreaking," he said, adding that the tape may offer insight into a part of Ledger's life that many in Hollywood were aware of, but was kept secret from the public.
The video's release comes on the heels of Us Weekly's report that Williams drove Ledger to Promises, the Malibu rehab facility frequented by celebrities, in March 2006, because he was abusing heroin, cocaine, "a variety of pills," and alcohol. But Ledger refused to check in, and vowed, instead, to clean up on his own.
According to Us, even after they split in September 2007, Williams demanded that Ledger be drug tested before his visitations with 2-year-old Matilda.
But publicist Mara Buxbaum, who represented Williams and Ledger, refuted Us's claims.
"Much of the tabloid reporting is inaccurate," she said in a statement issued to reporters. "This fabricated story of Michelle Williams attempting to bring Heath Ledger to rehab is just one lie among many. The speculation is heinous. Let this family grieve privately."
Ledger's body was found on Jan. 22 in his SoHo apartment in New York City, with bottles of prescription drugs nearby. The 28-year-old "Brokeback Mountain" star's cause of death remains open, pending toxicology tests.