Is Kate Quigley OK? Comedian 'not great' after taking fentanyl-laced cocaine
After a party on September 3, comedian Kate Quigley is in hospital due to Fentanyl-laced cocaine. According to reports, comedian Fuquan Johnson and two others died after overdosing on the drug at Johnson's Venice, Los Angeles home. Quigley was found by police in critical condition and taken to hospital. Now a friend of hers, Brian Redban, has revealed that she is in pretty bad shape, sharing screenshots of a chat with Quigley on Instagram.
As we have previously reported, fentanyl is fuelling an opioid crisis in the USA, prompting the White House to recommend it be added to the Schedule 1 list of drugs. The cheap drug is currently a popular way to cut heroin and cocaine, but with deadly results. Digital Underground rapper Shock G died in April this year, reportedly from an overdose of fentanyl and alcohol. Fentanyl is also blamed for taking the life of porn star Dakota Sky, who reportedly had an addiction before her death.
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Police were called to Johnson's home late on September 3, after guests noticed Johnson and his friends in "critical condition". Johnson, along with Enrico Colangeli and Natalie Williamson was reportedly pronounced dead at the scene, with Quigley being taken to a local hospital. Now a day later, we finally have an update on Quigley's health, thanks to Redban. From the Instagram story though, things don't appear to look good.
Is Kate Quigley ok?
"I’m alive. I’m not great. But I’m ok," Quigley texted Redban after he messaged her "text me if you are ok." Redban took a screenshot of that exchange and uploaded it to Instagram as a story. He also added the caption, "I have had a bad month.. And this just ruined me.. Hug everyone you love," to the story. Redban's story is the only news we have on Quigley's condition, and it seems she may just pull through.
Redban followed up that story with two more featuring images of Quigley, with one captioned "send love to @kateqfunny." He also shared Quigley's messages on Twitter, with the caption "hug everyone you love." An hour before uploading Quigley's texts, Redban tweeted a cryptic "f---", presumably after he learned she was in the hospital. Quigley herself has not shared an update on social media and attempts to reach her team by TMZ have fallen short, so we don't know what exactly she's undergoing, and when she might be out of the hospital.
The Los Angeles Police Department is still investigating the incident, so there's little else we know for now. it's unclear who gave Johnson the fentanyl-laced coke. In the past, Johnson and Quigley have dated, but she reportedly went to the party of her neighbor as a friend. She's currently dating Darius Rucker, the lead singer of the band Hootie & the Blowfish. The coroner's office is yet to conduct an autopsy, so we can't say for sure if fentanyl is to blame. That said, multiple news sources have reported that the deaths were due to fentanyl-laced cocaine.
Reportedly, the LAPD's homicide unit has been "notified" about the case, but they aren't directly involved just yet. If the dealer is identified, it is possible he/she could be charged by the DoJ, the way Cameron James Pettit was arrested and charged in 2019 over the death of Marc Miller. Johnson's death, along with Quigley's hospitalization, has once again drawn attention to the drug crisis, which resulted in over 90,000 OD deaths in 2020 alone. The White House has a plan, but as usual is facing pushback from the GOP, as Biden's compromise walks a careful tightrope.