As Marvin Sapp prepares for the release of his autobiographical film, Never Would Have Made It: The Marvin Sapp Story, the gospel singer is getting candid about his history with alcohol and drugs.
In an interview with Page Six, the gospel singer revealed his addiction to drugs and alcohol started as early as the age of 12.
“After my mother and father got divorced I started smoking marijuana daily at the age of twelve,” the preacher and singer told Page Six. “I started drinking and popping pills at the age of sixteen and at eighteen I snorted my first line of cocaine.”
In the interview, Sapp revealed that the friends who engaged with drugs with or either dead or serving time in prison.
“One of my friends is an alcoholic now, one of my friends is still strung out on crack,” he said. ”One of my friends is in prison for twenty-seven years for second-degree murder and another one of my friends died about fifteen years, because he had a kilo [of drugs on him when he was arrested].”
With his new interview and upcoming film, Sapp wants to dispel preconceived notions people may have due to his dedication to the church.
“I’ve always sung gospel music but [that was] because my mother made us go to church,” he told us, “But just because we went to church did not mean the church was in us.”
Sapp also revealed his intent from bringing his life story to screen was to showcase the flaws of church people.
"We are all flawed in some shape, form or fashion," he said.
“People need to see that because for some strange reason when they think of Marvin Sapp, people think I walk around with a halo but they don’t know my story.”
Never Would Have Made It: The Marvin Sapp Story premieres Aug. 21 at 9 p.m. ET on TV One.
