News feed
Demi Lovato’s highly-anticipated docuseries, Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil premiered at the SXSW Film Festival on Tuesday. Within the documentary Lovato has detailed how she was sexually abused and raped the night of her overdose in July 2018 and as a teenager.
“I didn’t just overdose. I was taken advantage of,” the 28-year-old says in the film. According to People, while Lovato’s addiction was already problematic, the overdose was a result of heroin laced with fentanyl as described by the singer’s close friend Sirah Mitchell.
“When they found me, I was naked, blue. I was literally left for dead after he took advantage of me,” Lovato says. “When I woke up in the hospital, they asked if we had had consensual sex. There was one flash that I had of him on top of me. I saw that flash and I said yes. It wasn’t until a month after the overdose that I realised, ‘You weren’t in any state of mind to make a consensual decision.'”
The sexual assault also stirred trauma from previous abuse when she was just 15 during her time with Disney Channel. She and the alleged attacker were “hooking up” at the time.
“When I was a teenager, I was in a very similar situation. I lost my virginity in a rape,” Lovato continues.
“They never got taken out of the movie they were in. I always kept it quiet because I’ve always had something to say. I don’t know, I’m tired of opening my mouth. Here’s the tea,” she says.
The trailer to the upcoming documentary – which premieres to the public on March 23 – reveals that the evening of the overdose caused Lovato to have a heart attack and three strokes. Directed by Michael D. Ratner, the four-part series features interviews from friends and family as well as A-list stars Elton John and Christina Aguilera in a no-filter retelling of her early life and career.
The “Sorry Not Sorry” artist has announced the release of a new album, Dancing with the Devil, out on April 2.
