After a week-long absence following some concerning tweets describing self-harm, Fred Toucher returned to the air in Boston on Friday. The co-host of Toucher and Rich had been absent from the station since Memorial Day weekend.
On Wednesday, Toucher’s co-host Rich Shertenlieb addressed the absence on Beasley Media Group’s WBZ-FM “98.5 The Sports Hub,” but said that management would not let him divulge any details or updates on his troubling social media posts. With his return, Toucher discussed the incident to open the Friday morning show and again in the 8a hour.
“As you know, I’m going through a divorce,’’ said Toucher, “The reason I bring that up is that half the time I live alone, without my kids, all right. So then there was the whole throat thing with the possible cancer, and I was out of work for five weeks, and there was a lot of time alone.”
Toucher recently returned to the show after time away. He was receiving treatment for a mass on his vocal cords that was caught by a listener.
“On Saturday, I relapsed completely and all that darkness comes out. For some reason I tweet something that is in my mind at the time probably very clever and very dark humor — and ‘Ooh, what is he talking about? — that in the light of day I realized was not clever at all and was stupid and actually freaked some people out.”
Recognizing that he had lost control and wanting to avoid further harm, Toucher voluntarily entered a detoxification facility. After enduring a difficult five-day stay, he was released and immediately sought outpatient care and therapy. Toucher has previously gotten treatment for alcohol dependency.
“In all truthfulness, I had no intention of hurting myself, but it was just all in all a really dumb thing to do, that only a dark, drunken mind would come up with,” continued Toucher. “Basically what I was doing was voluntarily locking myself up so I knew that I wouldn’t drink anymore.”
Toucher expressed gratitude for the concern from listeners and emphasized his commitment to not drink again, acknowledging that he could not handle it given his current circumstances. He attributed his struggles to a combination of factors, including the fear of cancer, loneliness from the divorce, and various stressors accumulating over time.
