Is Theo Von sober? Struggles explored as comedian falls at Trump's inauguration

On January 20, 2025, Theo Von stole the show during Donald Trump's inauguration as the 47th president of the United States. He became an overnight sensation after a chair broke under him and he fell backward into Logan Paul. While this was all on the humor side, the comedian and podcaster has been open about his sobriety journey, saying he has been sober for over two years.

In some of his interviews and podcast features, Von has shed light on his history of substance use abuse. He accounts how, at a very young age, he engaged himself with drug use and alcoholism, which greatly affected his life. At one moment, he hit a point that described his need to change.

In an August 2024 episode of This Past Weekend, during a conversation with President Donald Trump on his podcast, he stated:

"I’ve been sober for over two years recently after multiple stints in recovery."

Theo Von was born on March 19, 1980, in Covington, Louisiana. He grew up as one of four children within a difficult family environment, creating emotional issues that later led him to substance usage.

His father was much older, and often, Von would feel overshadowed by the needs of his family concerning his sister's health issues. He was quoted as saying by Gratitude Lodge:

"I started telling stories – making people laugh to stop them from hating. I felt judged and I felt lesser. Sometimes, I didn't feel anything."

"I never felt OK. I always felt like I was trying to make things OK."

Von initiated his drug use when he was in high school. He started with cocaine as a self-medication tool for his mental illness. He began taking it once in a while, but eventually, he upped his dose and would seclude himself and do cocaine at night:

“I liked cocaine because I would get it and do it by myself, at night”

Despite admitting to the detrimental influence on his life, he underplayed the level of his addiction until one day in 2016.

Theo Von's sobriety journey

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The break for Theo Von was on an episode of the radio show Opie with Jim Norton. He still had some effects of cocaine, and his articulation was really poor. Another guest on that day was ex-baseball player Darryl Strawberry, who was sober.

This encounter made it a moment of clarity for Von. He realized that he was killing his potential and should change:

“The main gift God had given me was my voice. And I couldn’t use it because I’d been up all night just using drugs.”

After this realization, Von returned to Los Angeles and joined Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). He found comfort in listening to others' stories at meetings and began to reshape his attitude toward life and recovery:

“I just kept going to the meetings. It helped change my attitude toward LA and toward my life”

Since Theo Von vowed to stay sober, he has been open about the challenges he still encounters. He acknowledges that recovery is not a straight line; it is full of relapses and constant watchfulness against temptation.

While podcasting with Trump, he mentioned that help is necessary:

"It gets bad when you think you've got control, but then things spiral down"

As of January 2025, Theo Von has been sober for more than two years.

Theo Von's inauguration mishap

At the inauguration, Theo Von was sitting on what appeared to be a folding chair when it suddenly gave out beneath him. The incident caused him to fall back into Logan Paul's lap, giving everyone a combination of shock and hilarity.

Logan Paul was filming the event, and so the fall was on video. The clip went viral within hours with millions of views.

Logan Paul humorously captioned the clip with "MAKE CHAIRS GREAT AGAIN."

Afterward, Von said it was not an accident but because the Paul brothers were messing with the chair. He was irate that he said: