John Legend’s Mother Was Arrested 4 Times During His Childhood
John Legend’s mother spent most of his childhood in and out of jail due to problems with drug addiction.
Phyllis Stephens, who has been in jail four times, was first arrested in December 1997 for theft and was arrested just weeks later for prostitution.
The report, which was obtained by Radar Online, states his mother spent five days in jail for the second crime.
She was arrested a third time for removing stolen property, and her final arrest occurred in 1999, just after the 39-year-old graduated from the University of Pennsylvania.
The father of one is a strong advocate for prison reform and even wrote an essay about it in Time.
“Those of us who have seen these diseases up-close understand that what a sick person needs is treatment, not punishment,” he said.
“As a teenager growing up in Ohio, I watched my mother disappear into more than a decade of drugs and despair after my maternal grandmother — a person who filled our whole family with love — passed away.”
Though he grew up in a difficult situation, the “All of Me” singer got his life on the right track and is now married to model Chrissy Teigen. The couple welcomed their first child in April.
“My mother’s addiction didn’t just tear her life apart; it tore me and the rest of our family apart, too. Drug addiction, for anyone who doubts it, is a serious problem, and our society is right to want to tackle it.”
