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Nigella Lawson says she'd rather be 'honest and ashamed' about drug use than let lies spread

Associated Press
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Celebrity chef, Nigella Lawson, arrives at Isleworth Crown Court in London, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2013. Lawson arrived at court on Thursday for a second day where she will testify as a prosecution witness at the trial of Elisabetta and Francesca Grillo, longtime employees who worked as nannies, cleaners and assistants in the couple's London home. The Grillos — sisters from Calabria in southern Italy — are accused of using credit cards loaned to them by Lawson and Saatchi for household expenses to spend 685,000 pounds (more than $1 million) on luxury clothes, accessories and rooms at high-end hotels. (AP Photo/Sang Tan) (The Associated Press)

Celebrity chef, Nigella Lawson, arrives at Isleworth Crown Court in London, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2013. Lawson arrived at court on Thursday for a second day where she will testify as a prosecution witness at the trial of Elisabetta and Francesca Grillo, longtime employees who worked as nannies, cleaners and assistants in the couple's London home. The Grillos — sisters from Calabria in southern Italy — are accused of using credit cards loaned to them by Lawson and Saatchi for household expenses to spend 685,000 pounds (more than $1 million) on luxury clothes, accessories and rooms at high-end hotels. (AP Photo/Sang Tan) (The Associated Press)

Celebrity chef, Nigella Lawson, arrives at Isleworth Crown Court in London, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2013. Lawson arrived at court on Thursday for a second day where she will testify as a prosecution witness at the trial of Elisabetta and Francesca Grillo, longtime employees who worked as nannies, cleaners and assistants in the couple's London home. The Grillos — sisters from Calabria in southern Italy — are accused of using credit cards loaned to them by Lawson and Saatchi for household expenses to spend 685,000 pounds (more than $1 million) on luxury clothes, accessories and rooms at high-end hotels. (AP Photo/Sang Tan) (The Associated Press)

Nigella Lawson says she is not proud of her past drug use, but came clean to avoid being "bullied by lies" from her ex-husband.

Lawson told a London court that "I would rather be honest and ashamed" than let false allegations stand.

The celebrity chef testified for a second day Thursday at the fraud trial of two former assistants.

The case has been overshadowed by revelations about the troubled relationship between Lawson and ex-husband Charles Saatchi. They divorced in July after Saatchi was photographed grabbing Lawson's throat outside a London restaurant.

Lawyers for former employees Elisabetta and Francesca Grillo allege that Lawson sanctioned their high spending in exchange for their silence about her drug use.

On Wednesday, Lawson said she had taken cocaine but denied being a habitual drug user.