A new Hulu documentary titled 'Travis Barker: Louder Than Fear' covers Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker's opioid addiction, a 2008 plane crash that killed four people, and his and wife Kourtney Kardashian's pregnancy losses and IVF attempts, according to the film now streaming on the platform.
Hulu documentary on Travis Barker covers plane crash, addiction, and Kourtney Kardashian's IVF journey
A new Hulu documentary titled 'Travis Barker: Louder Than Fear' covers Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker's opioid addiction, a 2008 plane crash that killed four people, and his and wife Kourtney Kardashian's pregnancy losses and IVF attempts, according to the film now streaming on the platform.
The documentary was filmed over nine years, from 2017 to 2026, and includes a posthumous appearance by Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died in March 2022. In footage recorded before his death, Hawkins recalled meeting Barker during what he described as Barker's 'humble beginnings,' when Barker was working as a trash collector in Laguna Beach, California, and playing drums for a punk rock band called Feeble. 'It was like, you're gonna get picked up by a band, eventually — and you will be the star attraction in that band,' Hawkins said of his assessment of Barker at the time.
On opioid addiction, Barker said a friend gave him a pill to manage his fear of flying before a flight, and that his use escalated from one or two painkillers such as OxyContin before a flight to needing them constantly. 'Having to be on them or I couldn't even function,' he said. At the height of his use, he said he 'had a security guard watching him' around the clock 'whose only job was to make sure I was breathing.' His former wife Shanna Moakler, to whom he was married from 2004 to 2008, said Barker told her he was taking '20 to 30 pills a day sometimes.' Barker said he has since become sober.
In September 2008, a private plane carrying Barker crashed while departing Columbia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina. Two pilots, his personal assistant Chris Baker, and his security guard Charles 'Che' Still were killed. Barker and Adam 'DJ AM' Goldstein were the only survivors. Dr. Peter Grossman, medical director of Grossman Burn Center, said in the documentary that Barker arrived 'in really bad shape' with 'extensive burns' and that 'there was an absolute concern as to whether or not he would survive.' Barker said 65 percent of his body was burned, that doctors discussed amputating his foot, that he underwent 27 surgeries over more than three months in the hospital, and that he was suicidal during recovery.
Barker said his daughter Alabama cried hysterically before his departure for the flight, saying 'the roof is on fire, and it's gonna come off.' He said she cried for approximately two hours after he left, before the crash occurred. In August 2009, Goldstein died of a drug overdose. Barker said Goldstein's death made him feel as though he was 'in Final Destination, and I was next,' and that he 'definitely' experienced survivor's guilt. To cope, Barker said he slept alternately in his son Landon's bed and daughter Alabama's bed, and that his children 'were the best thing for my recovery.'
Barker and Kardashian, who lived near each other, began a relationship in 2021 after spending holidays together with their respective children. Kardashian said watching Barker as a father 'always drew her to him.' Six months into the relationship, Kardashian became pregnant but the couple was told the baby had no heartbeat. Barker said the baby was a girl they named Tulip. Kardashian said, 'When we lost the baby, we were devastated. We just laid in bed and cried for days.'
The couple then attempted in vitro fertilization. Kardashian, who was 41 at the time, said her doctor told her IVF was necessary, that the process was 'so hard on her body,' and that five attempts over eight months each ended without success. 'It messed with me, mentally,' she said. In May 2023, the two said they were 'officially done' with IVF and intended to conceive naturally. Kardashian became pregnant again in 2023 and announced the pregnancy at a Blink-182 concert in Los Angeles. When she was seven months pregnant and Barker was touring in Europe, doctors found the baby's lungs were filling with fluid and she required urgent fetal surgery. Barker cancelled four tour dates and traveled to be with her. Their son Rocky was born one month later.
Separately, the documentary includes Kardashian describing a 'vision' during breath work exercises before Barker's first flight since the 2008 crash — a 2021 trip to Mexico — in which she said she saw an image of Barker's mother Gloria, who died in 1990 when Barker was 12. Kardashian said the vision conveyed the message, 'Thank you for taking care of my son.'
- The source does not state the runtime or format of the documentary.
- The source does not state whether Barker's opioid addiction began before or after the 2008 plane crash, or confirm the precise timeline.
- The source does not state the identity of the friend who first gave Barker a pill for flight anxiety.
- The source does not state what specific IVF protocols were used or any further medical details about Kardashian's fetal surgery.
- The source does not state whether Barker's manager, referenced in the podcast anecdote about canceling the flight, has responded to or commented on that account.
- The source does not state critical or audience reception of the documentary beyond describing it as 'emotional.'
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