Artie Lange says deformed nose is due to drug abuse, getting kidnapped and punched

Sara M Moniuszko
Updated
On the "Are We Still Talking About This?" podcast, Artie Lange says his nose became deformed because of two reasons: drug abuse and a gambling debt.

Comedian Artie Lange is coming clean about what led to his busted nose.

During an interview on the NSFW "Are We Still Talking About This?" podcast, the star revealed his nose became deformed due to drug abuse and a gambling debt gone wrong.

"The reason I have this nose is, of course, the abuse. I have no septum," he said. "I also owed a bookie $62,000... and a kid who worked for the bookie... he was collecting, and he thought I was a billionaire because he saw me on TV, and he kidnapped me. I was going to my truck, he knocked me out with one punch... Knocked me out for like 10 minutes."

Lange said the incident happened 11 months ago.

He continued, "It destroyed my nose. The septum from the abuse from the years of drugs and this hit broke it, and I've had two operations, and it's just in bad shape."

Lange is best known for his work on "The Howard Stern Show." He also appeared in films like "Elf," "Mail Order Bride" and "Boat Trip."

Lange is currently promoting his "Live to Tell" comedy tour.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Artie Lange says deformed nose is due to drug abuse, getting kidnapped and punched