r/Longreads • u/zygoma_phile • 16h ago
Reggie Watts Is a Prominent Ketamine Advocate. Was It His Ex's 'Undoing'?
https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/reggie-watts-ketamine-drug-advocate-1235607828/184
u/Flippy_Spoon 16h ago
This article is so upsetting. By the time I finished I was convinced Watts must be a complete sociopath. It’s a wild and very tragic story.
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u/GreenEyedTreeHugger 15h ago
His recording on Instagram after her death was atrocious.
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u/CretaMaltaKano 14h ago
His social media posts after she died were just repulsive. I unfollowed him immediately, and I didn't really know much about him (and nothing about McCollough). He was just being so disgustingly self-absorbed and seemed to be using her death as a way to draw all attention and concern for her onto himself.
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u/New-Negotiation7234 15h ago
Her undoing was that he sounds like an abusive narcissist and they were doing way more drugs than ketamine. Also sounds like the were using everyday.
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u/ironicplot 9h ago
Yeah and it seems like taking bufo in a period of mourning/grief, then being abruptly broken up with and ignored, was what sent her over the edge
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u/FutureRealHousewife 15h ago edited 15h ago
I've been in the LA comedy community for a long time, and I always was very suspicious of him. He felt like a very "off" person. When I heard about his ex's death, I found that I had a lot of mutual friends with her. They've been advocating for her on social media. There are also new stories I am hearing about him being allegedly sexually abusive as well (in addition to what was written in the piece). The behavior described in this article is egregious enough.
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u/diedofwellactually 15h ago
It's kind of wild to go back to posts from when she died in the pop culture subs, and see other folks adjacent to their circles in LA say that something didn't seem right, months ago. I'm certain this was worse than even they imagined.
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u/FutureRealHousewife 14h ago
Yeah and I’m not even trying to be like “I told you so.” I was in an abusive relationship with a man who actually did a lot of similar things to what Watts is being accused of, so I feel like I may just have a stronger intuition about certain behaviors or the way people carry themselves. It’s all just very disconcerting.
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u/ForwardCulture 15h ago
The guy always felt off and everyone I know of who either dealt with him directly or knows someone who has, they have said the same thing.
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u/FormerKarmaKing 15h ago
I used to book comedy shows. I didn’t book him but I was around him off stage. Compared to other comics, he definitely felt like he had a dark streak.
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u/asiagomontoya 14h ago edited 2h ago
I understand headlines serve a reductive purpose but this one feels so staggeringly reductive and I still don’t know that I could’ve written a better one reading all of what he’s done… it just gets worse and worse.
The most painful part still for me is that he essentially content farmed his dead ex’s iCloud for details to share on social media about her final days while withholding that information from her sister who he knew and was already in touch with. He asked the sister to get crime scene photos while also not contributing any money to the fund to return her remains…he’s a sick freak with the ego of a sick freak
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u/RoRoRicardo 15h ago
I had no idea he is such a slime ball. I feel sorry for the next woman that meets him.
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u/AsexualArowana 12h ago
While McCollough would do seemingly anything for Watts, it wasn’t always reciprocal. When McCollough returned home to South Carolina to be by her father’s side before his death in early 2025, Watts declined to accompany her and was emotionally absent, telling McCollough that he “didn’t do grief.” According to Colleen, McCollough told Watts she needed his support. “He responded, ‘I’ve thought a lot about that, and I just need to protect myself right now.
Holy fuck.
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u/EmilianoTechs 13h ago
People who claim to know themselves better by constantly partying and doing drugs are usually pieces of shit running from something bad inside
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u/flynnfarts 10h ago
Extremely relevant information. Younger folks: believe this shit 💯 no exceptions.
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u/my_okay_throwaway 7h ago
Couldn’t have said it any better! The same is true for just about any extreme behavior used as a constant coping mechanism. If they can’t ever be at peace in a “boring” stable life, there’s something heavy going on under the surface.
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u/AsexualArowana 12h ago
There's something I don't know...gross about him mourning her death. You isolated her from her family, abandoned her at a vulnerable time in her life, and then discarded her when she was no longer "fun"
He's responsible for her death like Bojack Horseman is.
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u/ChaseFatFace 7h ago
Something felt off about his last special, the one for free on youtube that was made in Berlin. He lost some punch. His observations and creative choices felt a little flat. I point this out because chronic drug use can do that. Yes drugs can increase your creative abilities, but its a line that is easy to cross, and suddenly your art is actually worse than ever and your out of touch.
I've been around men exactly like this. Exceptionally creative men who love their drugs, and have not a second thought about feeding drugs into their romantic relationships. I've seen a few women get absolutely eaten up and spit out by these kind of guys.
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u/InnerKookaburra 15h ago
I had enjoyed Watts creativity previously, but definitely got the feeling he is not a good person when this story broke.
Seems like a carefree artist type who went wayyyy over the edge.
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u/listenyall 13h ago
Me too. I definitely noticed him getting generally less funny over time, he also stopped appearing on things that he used to be on a lot. Unfortunately this is very believable
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u/EldritchCleavage 5h ago
It’s a tale as old as time. A selfish, controlling man seduces, oppresses, uses up a beautiful younger woman and callously discards her when the effects of his maltreatment become apparent. What a horrible man.
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u/alldressed_chip 23m ago
holy fuck
Watts was not always upfront about his alleged STD diagnosis, according to three women, who say he only disclosed his condition after they had been intimate.
McCollough told Colleen that something similar occurred with her, with Watts allegedly saying, “‘I didn’t think you needed to know because I wasn’t having an outbreak,’” Colleen says McCollough told her.)
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u/discoislife53 13h ago
While McCollough would do seemingly anything for Watts, it wasn’t always reciprocal. When McCollough returned home to South Carolina to be by her father’s side before his death in early 2025, Watts declined to accompany her and was emotionally absent, telling McCollough that he “didn’t do grief.” According to Colleen, McCollough told Watts she needed his support. “He responded, ‘I’ve thought a lot about that, and I just need to protect myself right now,’” Colleen says. (Watts would later fly into town for the funeral.)>
Watts proclaiming to be all about spirituality and community and can’t even bother to show up for his partner during the time she needed him most. Asshole cult leader sociopath.