Celebrity Chef Nigella Lawson Admits Cocaine Use

LONDON (AP) — Celebrity chef Nigella Lawson has admitted in a U.K. court that she has taken cocaine a handful of times. But she denied habitually using illegal drugs and accused her ex-husband of spreading that allegation to savage her reputation.

Lawson said ex-husband Charles Saatchi had threatened to destroy her if she did not clear his name after he was photographed gripping her throat outside a London restaurant, a widely published image that was soon followed by a divorce.

Coverage of the trial has focused more on the couple's failed marriage and their tempestuous home life than on allegations that two women working for them were fraudulently using their credit cards.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.