Gospel Singer Le’Andria Johnson Opens Up About Her Battle with Alcoholism Following Her Arrest for Public Intoxication
Gospel singer Le’Andria Johnson, 41, appears to be in serious legal trouble after she was arrested in South Carolina on Dec. 16.
According to WSPA, the Florida native was taken into custody in Greenville, South Carolina, around 3:37 pm on charges of public drunkenness and having an open container on a public street.
Local police officers say they found Johnson screaming profanities at another person while holding a styrofoam cup with “amber-colored liquid.” The second individual has not been named.
WSPA claims the “Sunday Best” winner was held at the Greenville County Detention Center on a $257 bond. Following the arrest, Johnson thanked her loved ones and fans in a video message published on the Larry Reid Live YouTube channel.
“To all of my family, my friends, and my supporters, thank you so much for your continued prayers and love,” Johnson stated while in what appears to be a hotel room. “I’m just taking this time now to really just ‘woo-sah.’”
Additionally, the daughter of a church bishop described her alcohol issues as a “daily” struggle noting, “This has been a daily walk for me for some time now and I’m yet still growing.”
She added, “Just keep me lifted. I’mma get through this.”
The “Deliver Me” vocalist has a history of past run-ins with the law. She previously served time in jail for violating probation after failing a sobriety test during a traffic stop.
“It took an ankle bracelet for me to stop drinking,” Johnson confessed to the Metropolitan Baptist Church congregation in 2019.
She also acknowledged during that testimony that drinking alcohol became a “day-to-day situation” as a way to self-medicate following the death of her brother, Gregory A. Johnson, who died in 2016.
News of the former “Preachers of Atlanta” reality show star’s latest arrest in South Carolina has sparked responses on social media.
“I’m praying for her but she really needs to sit down for a bit,” one person wrote in the Only Saint’s Instagram comment section.
Another commenter posted, “I think she needs a real pastor, she been around too many celebrities.” A response read, “But a good one can cover her, pray her through these times, or even give her wise counsel to help her avoid falling.”
Johnson also became the butt of online jokes. For instance, an Instagram user commented, “Boy, she gone sing the hell out of ‘Deliver Me’ next Sunday!!!”
A supporter of the “Bigger Than Me” singer added, “Prayers up for her!! God’s chosen are always under attack! You might be next so watch your mouths!!!”
“LeAndria Johnson just can’t get it right,” an X user tweeted on the night of Dec. 16. That led to another person on the app responding, “You can’t either.”
In 2019, Johnson opened up about having a drinking problem while appearing on the “Iyanla: Fix My Life” television show on OWN Network.
“The problem with alcohol has led me to not be a part of the important things that I should have been able to be a part of,” she revealed to host Iyanla Vanzant.
She also discussed how substance abuse issues had affected her relationship with her children, saying, “If I go anywhere, they will say, ‘Can you not drink?’”
A teary-eyed Johnson owned up to responding to her kids by proclaiming, “Don’t tell me what to do.” She recently celebrated her daughter, Calen Imory, turning 19 years old on Instagram on Dec. 13.
Johnson’s most recent Instagram post included the Grammy Award winner sharing a positive message with her 717,000 followers.
“The strongest actions for a woman is to love herself, be herself, and shine amongst those who never believed she could,” Johnson wrote on the social media platform.
Viewers crowned Johnson the season three winner of BET’s “Sunday Best” reality television competition series in June 2010.
Following her victory, Le’Andria released multiple music projects between 2011 and 2017. “The Awakening of Le’Andria Johnson” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart in 2011.
The Recording Academy awarded Johnson with a Grammy for Best Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music Performance in 2012 for her “Jesus” single.
