Demi Lovato Regrets Doing Three Documentaries On Her Sobriety
Demi Lovato attends the OBB Premiere Event for YouTube Originals Docuseries "Demi Lovato: Dancing With The Devil" at The Beverly Hilton on March 22, 2021 in Beverly Hills, California.
While promoting her new album Holy Fvck, Demi Lovato reflected on some regrets she’s had. One is that she has put her life on display via three documentaries about her. “Honestly, I’m really sick of watching myself, and I think other people probably are too,” Demi told Alternative Press in a recent interview. “And if they aren’t, then they can watch my music videos.”
Over the past decade, the 30-year-old has been the subject of three documentaries covering her struggles with substance abuse and mental health. First, there was 2012’s Demi Lovato: Stay Strong. That was followed in 2017 by Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated. Most recently, there was the 2021 docu-series Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil. The most recent doc addressed the pop star’s near-fatal 2018 drug overdose. It was during that overdoes that she suffered a heart attack, multiple strokes and brain damage.
Demi said she used the documentaries to help explain what she was going through at certain periods in her life. However Demi admits she may have jumped the gun a bit. “I wish I would have waited until I had my s— figured out more because now it’s cemented,” Demi said. “Sobriety is what works for me and nothing else.”
The “Substance” singer said they aren’t opposed to opening up to fans again sometime in the future. However they will use another avenue besides documentaries. “My story’s not done,” she concluded. “So I want to be able to say by the time I’ve written a book, ‘OK, this is me grown up.'”
Though Demi’s previous album, Dancing With The Devil was centered around her post-overdose recovery journey, they were intentional about not making the entirety of Holy Fvck’s narrative about that. However, they wanted to confront any public opinion on their return to treatment head-on with its hard-hitting lead single, “SKIN OF MY TEETH.” ”I went back to rehab, came out and saw these headlines that were like, ‘Demi leaves rehab again.’ I was just like, ‘Might as well make the most of it.'” Lovato said the song is dedicated to people in recovery.
Demi Lovato Releases '29:' 'The Song Says It All'
Demi Lovato released “29” today (August 17.) After fans speculated online in previous weeks, the song seems to be shading her ex-boyfriend Wilmer Valderrama.
In a new interview, Lovato said about the song, “When I turned 29, I remember I was on vacation and I just realized I’m 29 now, and it put things into perspective. It put everything into perspective. And I’m very careful with the way that I answer these questions because I feel like the song says it all. I don’t have to say too much, to be honest, but turning 29 was a huge eye opener for me.”
The song begins with lyrics, “Petal on the vine, too young to drink wine / Just five years a bleeder, student and a teacher / Far from innocent, what the f—‘s consent ‘ Numbers told you not to, but that didn’t stop you.”
The singer met the That 70s Show star when she was 17 and he was 29. They dated for six years from 2010-2016. In her 2017 documentary Simply Complicated, Lovato said she went to his house for a PSA about census forms because he was “really cute.”
“I didn’t really care about the census forms, but when I met him and I laid eyes on him for the first time, I was in hair and makeup and he came in and sat down and I was like ‘I love this man’ and ‘I have to have him.’ But I was only 17, so he was like, ‘Get away from me,'” she said, while making a cross with her fingers.” After I turned 18, we began dating. I think it was love at first sight and I don’t really believe in that, but I believe that it happened.”
The singer added in her interview, “And then, going into treatment and having realizations led to my transformation, my release of the emotion that was put into this song. I would be lying if I said I didn’t have a ton of anxiety about putting out this song. I just said, ‘I have to go for this. I have to own my truth.'”
She continued, “I do still walk that line very finely. I’ve learned that sometimes saying less is more. And it’s taken me to 30 years old to maybe learn that, but here I am approaching the way that I express myself differently in front of the media because it’s okay to have boundaries.”
Demi Lovato’s HOLY FVCK album comes out this Friday (August 19). See what fans think of “29” below:
Laila Abuelhawa is the Top 40 and Hip-Hop pop culture writer for Beasley Media Group. Being with the company for over three years, Laila's fierce and fabulous red-carpet rankings have earned her a feature on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert!' Her favorite stories are those surrounding the latest in celebrity fashion, television and film rankings, and how the world reacts to major celebrity news. With a background in journalism, Laila's stories ensure accuracy and offer background information on stars that you wouldn't have otherwise known. She prides herself in covering stories that inform the public about what is currently happening and what is to come in the ever-changing, ever-evolving media landscape.
