Lionel Richie jokes that daughter Nicole's wild years 'almost killed me'

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Lionel Richie joked about barely surviving his daughter Nicole Richie's wild years back in the early 2000s.

The 73-year-old singer joined Drew Barrymore for Thursday's episode of "The Drew Barrymore Show" in which they discussed Barrymore's friendship with Nicole, 41. The "Never Been Kissed" actress noted that the two grew up together and had been "dear friends" for "years." 

"We're a part of this little girl wolf pack, and I think Nicole and I have figured out how to have so much fun and then pull it together and be, like, really good moms," Barrymore said.

"I don't even know how that happened," Richie joked.

LIONEL RICHIE SAYS HIS ‘ALL NIGHT LONG’ IS 'DOWN TO A FIERCE 15 MINUTES'

Lionel Richie joked about how Drew Barrymore and his daughter Nicole's wilder years "almost killed" him. (Getty)

"You know, as parents, you go, ‘This is going to be a disaster.’"

The four-time Grammy winner referenced his daughter's partying days with her former "The Simple Life" co-star Paris Hilton.

"Because Nicole and Paris, let's talk about it … When they started out — I mean, if I lived through that, I can live through anything," Richie said.

The "Easy" hitmaker remembered how the women formed "this little committee" he said he called the "bitty committee."

"And then you go, ‘This is no way that this is going to transcend over into a family with husbands and kids,’" he said. "No way, and then they turned out perfectly."

"We turned out OK," Barrymore said as she knelt in front of Richie and gave him a hug.

Barrymore recalled how she and Nicole have been close friends for years. (Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Baby2Baby)

"Maybe I should get on the floor with you," Richie joked.

The Golden Globe Award winner told him, "I think also, like, we got it all out of our systems." 

"I love hearing it from your side of the story," Richie replied. "So let me give you my side of the story."

"You all almost killed me," he added as Barrymore laughed. "I'm so glad you got it out of your system. I almost cut my system off. You know what I'm saying? I almost lost consciousness."

Richie recalled getting late-night phone calls regarding his daughter's run-ins with law enforcement. He referenced Nicole's 2006 DUI after the 25-year-old was stopped while driving the wrong way on a Los Angeles freeway.

"Some nights I would get a phone, ‘Uh, Mr. Richie?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘This is the sheriff of so-and-so county. We have Nicole here.’  And I'm thinking to myself, ‘What did she do now?' 'Well, she went down the wrong way of the freeway.'

Richie recalled Nicole's party-girl days with her former "The Simple Life" co-star Paris Hilton. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

"And I'm thinking to myself, 'This is not possible right?'

"All I wanna find out is who's going to pay me back for all that medication I took?" Richie joked. "That's all I care about."

"Both of us will!" Barrymore quipped.

"Someone said to me, ‘How did you make it through all of this?’ Richie recalled as he gestured between himself and Barrymore.

"And I said, ‘I was somewhere between meditation and medication.'"

Barrymore laughed as she noted Richie must be looking forward to seeing her and Nicole deal with their own children when they get older.

"You're just excited for us all to get a little bit of parental payback, aren't you?" the mother of two asked.

"Oh yeah, you know I am," Richie said as they embraced.

Richie and his ex-wife Brenda Harvey informally adopted Nicole when she was 2 and formally adopted her when she was 9 (Christopher Polk/ACMA2012/Getty Images for ACM)

The Alabama native recalled that his own parents "loved it" when he would complain about his daughter's wild times.

"I came in the house one day and I said, 'Mom, Dad can you believe it? This is what's going on,'" he remembered. "My dad starts laughing hysterically, and then I realized, 'They're doing the same thing that I did to my folks.' Only worse because they are doing it in Beverly Hills, and the problem is it would never be allowed in Alabama.

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"In Beverly Hills, it's 'Oh it's OK, Lionel, they're supposed to be able to have some fun.' No, no, no. Grab my child, pull my child in the car and bring 'em home. But in LA, it's this freedom and justice for all. No, there is no freedom and justice.

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"But, see, this is freedom and justice right here," Richie said while patting Barrymore's hand. 

"We're doing it," she replied.

"You are doing very well," he said as he nodded and kissed her on the cheek.

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The singer and his ex-wife Brenda Harvey informally adopted Nicole, who was the biological daughter of a member of his band, when she was 2 years old. They formalized the adoption when she was 9.

Nicole shares daughter Harlow, 15, and son Sparrow, 13, with her husband Joel Madden, 44. Barrymore is a mother to daughters Olive, 10, and Frankie, 8, whom she shares with ex-husband Will Kopelman, 44.

Hilton, 42, and her husband Carter Reum, 42, welcomed their first child, son Phoenix, in January.