In a new interview, Demi Lovato revealed that she came close to relapsing shortly after
her near-fatal overdose due to headlines that triggered her eating disorder and made her
want to “give up.”
Let’s get into everything she said.
Ahead of Demi Lovato’s revealing docu-series Dancing With The Devil, that comes out today
on YouTube, she sat down with Paper Magazine for a new interview.
Demi has always been honest with fans about her struggles whether that’s her sobriety,
her struggle with her eating disorder, or her near-fatal overdose in 2018.
But in this new docu-series, she takes her honesty and vulnerability to a new level and
doesn’t hold back about anything.
And Demi did the same when discussing her new series in interviews.
Before we get into everything Demi said, I just wanted to issue a trigger warning that
we will be discussing topics like drug abuse and eating disorders, so please only continue
watching if you feel comfortable doing so.
Demi just sat down with Paper Magazine and discussed both the series and the pressures
of quote, “being perceived by millions as a poster girl for mental health advocacy while
continuing to battle her own demons.”
And this isn’t the first time Demi has voiced these pressures.
During a 2020 appearance on Ashley Graham’s podcast Pretty Big Deal, Demi revealed that
she believes it was the pressures from her ongoing untreated eating disorder that led
to her relapse.
In that interview Demi said that she thought she was recovering from her eating disorder
in the lead-up to her overdose, but in reality she was actually quote “just completely
falling into it.”
In her new interview with Paper, Demi revealed that even after her overdose and treatment,
she struggled with her eating disorder to the point of almost relapsing right away.
She discussed having to speak to journalists and strangers about the “most traumatizing
moments of her life”and how exhausting that has been.
Demi also explained that she no longer reads articles about herself and tries not to read
comments on her social media due to an incident with a headline that happened shortly after
she left a rehab facility in 2018.
Demi said quote, “I think it was right after I got out of rehab in 2018.
I saw an article somewhere that said I was morbidly obese.
And that is the most triggering thing that you could possibly write about somebody with
an eating disorder.”
Demi went on and revealed that articles like this almost caused her to relapse again right
after her near-fatal overdose.
In her documentary, Demi revealed that in the months leading up to her overdose, she
was using drugs like meth, ecstasy, cocaine, weed, alcohol, heroin, oxycontin, and more.
She spoke about mixing these drugs for months saying quote, “That alone should have killed
me.”
And after seeing the headlines about her body, Demi admitted wanting to go back to using
drugs saying quote, “That sucked, and I wanted to quit, I wanted to use, wanted to
give up.
And then I just realized that if I don't look at those things then they can't affect me.
So, I stopped looking and I just really try not to look at anything negative."
And even after all the negatives that came from seeing the headlines about herself, Demi
still uses social media to share with others and spread positive messages.
She said quote, “I think the positives outweigh the negatives.
I think that if they didn't, I wouldn't be doing this.”
And at the end of the day, Demi said that the sacrifices of going public with her deepest
struggles are worth it because she recognizes how much her honesty has helped both herself
and her fans.
She said quote, "I don't ever want to be living in fear.
And I feel like the best way to not do that is by living my truth.”
And it truly couldn’t be more brave that Demi has shared her story the way she has.
We know how much it’s already helped so many people and will continue to for years
to come.
When it comes to her new album which drops next week, Demi explained how it’s a companion
piece to the documentary and how it dives into her experiences this past year.
She said quote, "Even though the album is not technically a soundtrack to the documentary,
it kind of is.
If you were to follow the track listing in order, it really goes to the way my life has
played out over the last year.”
We can’t wait to hear Demi’s new music and we’re going to be watching each episode
of her docu-series as soon as they come out.
We also wanted to thank Demi again for her honesty and candidness about her traumatic
experiences and we’ve linked some resources down in the description in case you or anyone
you know needs them.
If you want more on Demi Lovato, click right over here for another Clevver News video.
Also, let us know down in the comments below if you’ve watched her new docu-series yet
and what you think.
I’m your host Emile Ennis Jr., bye guys!