Demi Lovato is a worldwide icon. A singer. An actress. And a survivor of tragedies. Lovato is sharing her story in a four-part documentary, Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil.
The Mexican-American star is baring her soul in her most original documentary to date, directed by Michael D. Ratner, who has helmed several TV doc series and shorts for singer Justin Bieber and comedian Kevin Hart. Lovato and some of her closest confidants dive deep into her struggle with drug addiction, eating disorders and self-control in a film that is distinctively divided in several episodes.
In her 2017’s documentary Simply Complicated, Lovato addressed her drug addiction, eating disorder and past relationships.
Back in 2018, a film crew was filming Lovato’s “Tell Me You Love Me” world tour for yet another doc. But the film was permanently halted after the artist’s hospitalization on July 24 of that year.
Two years later, the singer decided to make a new documentary to “set the record straight” about what happened. Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil deals with the events before and after the 2018 concert’s dramatic end.
Episode one, titled “Losing Control,” details how the strict guidelines of those around her pushed her over the edge. The Sorry Not Sorry singer has been battling bulimia since she was a preteen after she began binge eating when she was nine years old. Lovato says she had her first hit of cocaine at 17.
Lovato had a team of assistants—a nutritionist, a dietitian, a wellness coach and therapists—that helped to keep her sober and with her eating disorder. Despite her team being there to help, the constant micromanaging led to Lovato’s relapse, which she managed to keep hidden from her team.
The artist hid her relapse behind a charming smile and began taking hard drugs, such as heroin, without anyone being wiser. This happened one month after her sixth sobriety anniversary. She reached out to a drug dealer she knew and the downward spiral began.
“I remember being at a photo shoot and just thinking to myself, I don’t even remember why I’m sober anymore,” Lovato recounts in the YouTube Original series. “I’m so miserable; I’m not happy.”
The Sorry Not Sorry singer’s overdose brought her to the brink of death. After getting her high, her drug dealer sexually assaulted her, leaving her naked and for dead. In episode two, “5 Minutes from Death,” Lovato’s former assistant Jordan Jackson recounts finding her and making the life-saving 911 call.
“My doctors said that like I had five to 10 more minutes, and had my assistant not come in, I wouldn’t be here today,” Lovato said.
The Confident singer suffered three strokes, a brain injury, multi-organ failure and even a heart attack after taking drugs laced with Fentanyl. She still suffers from physical deficits from the attack. She can’t drive anymore and has blind spots in her vision.
The former Disney star’s road to recovery was hard enough before realizing that she was sexually assaulted the night of her overdose. The documentary is the first time Lovato revealed that she had been taken advantage of by her drug dealer.
“It wasn’t until maybe a month after my overdose that I realized, ‘Hey, you weren’t in any state of mind to make a consensual decision,’” Lovato recalls. “That kind of trauma doesn’t go away overnight.”
Today, Lovato has made significant strides toward rebuilding her life and has created a new music album that details her life experiences over the past few years. Dancing with the Devil…The Art of Starting Over will arrive on April 2, with her single “Dancing with the Devil” claiming this week’s favorite new music release as reported by a poll conducted by Billboard.
The first two episodes of Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil are available now on YouTube, with episode three arriving on March 30 at 3 p.m. ET.
Episode three, “Reclaiming Power,” will recount Lovato’s journey in rehab and episode four will dive into her relationship with ex-fiance, actor and singer Max Ehrich.
Featured Photo: Demi Lovato (Credit: Courtersy of SXSW)
