Drew Barrymore Says Her Late Father Was “Nobody’s Poster Child Of How To Live A Life” On ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’

Drew Barrymore offered some rare insight into her late father, John Drew Barrymore, and the life lesson he taught her despite their years-long estrangement.

On this morning’s episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, the actress and guest Reba McEntire discussed the current turmoil plaguing the country right now, noting that the Super Bowl seemed to be the one “true miracle” that brought everyone together.

“In my opinion, I think it’s huge,” McEntire, who performed at the big game, said. “We can all agree to disagree. We have our own opinions. God made every snowflake different, why would he make us the same?”

She continued, “So if we just could agree to disagree — you have your beliefs, I have mine — let’s just live in peace and harmony. I just don’t see how that’s so difficult.”

McEntire’s stance reminded Drew of her late father, whom she described as “such an odd bird.”

“I mean, he didn’t wear shoes, he was out to lunch, philosophical, wore his tie as a belt — but he just was always like, ‘Just live and let live, man,'” Drew said. “More of that, please.”

She added, “I’m using a very bizarre example of a human, who’s nobody’s poster child of how to live a life. But ‘just live and let live, man’ was one of the best gifts he ever taught me, the little I was around him.”

The talk show host, who was emancipated from both of her parents at the age of 14, has been open about her troublesome upbringing. While John — a “drug addict,” according to Drew — was absent from most of her life, she previously revealed that she paid for his hospice care before he died from cancer in 2004.

In a 2020 Father’s Day post, Barrymore described her dad as a “mad poet hedonist man child,” joking that she “somehow” has “zero baggage or dad issues.”

“I think I would have liked to have a dad who didn’t look so out there. Or who stayed. Or was capable of anything really,” she wrote on Instagram. “But his wildness runs through me. His gifts are here. His demons to overcome are mine to break! I love him not for who I wanted him to be, but for who he was.”

The Drew Barrymore Show airs on weekdays on CBS. You can check the website for local airtimes.