LOS ANGELES (AP) – Demi Lovato’s overdose in 2018 resulted in the singer having three strokes and a heart attack, leaving her with physical limitations that still affect her.
Lovato publicly reveals, for the first time, details about the near-fatal incident in “Demi Lovato: Dancing With the Devil”, a four-part documentary that premiered on March 23 on YouTube Originals. In the trailer, Lovato says the doctors told her family that she was five to ten minutes old.
“I got brain damage and I still deal with the effects of it today,” she said in a video call on Wednesday. “I don’t drive a car because I have blind spots in my vision. For a long time, I had a hard time reading. It was very important when I was able to read a book, which happened two months later, because my vision was very blurred. “
Lovato said the lasting repercussions “are still there to remind me of what could happen if I ever stepped into a dark place again.”
The 28-year-old singer, who had pink hair on the call, has been working since she was 10, when she appeared on the TV series “Barney & Friends”. She went to rehab for the first time at age 18, after battling bipolar disorder, anorexia and bullying.
Lovato shared her private struggles before, in a 2012 MTV documentary and a 2017 YouTube document in which she said she was still dealing with alcohol and cocaine after undergoing further rehabilitation. She said that speaking publicly about these programs gave her the responsibility that kept her sober for six years until her relapse in 2018.
“My purpose in publicizing this is to help people who are on the same path as me,” she said. “I wanted to clarify things and reveal everything to my fans.”
Lovato’s family, as well as Elton John and Christina Aguilera, are among those interviewed in the document that was filmed more than a year ago. In the third segment, Lovato discusses past traumas in his life.
Lovato has no relationship with artists who claim to be more creative when they are in a dark place or using drugs. “I feel that the best job I do is when I am present and I am aware of what is going on in my life,” she said. “That’s when the truth just flows from me. As long as I continue to tell my truth, I will make music that resonates with people ”.
Lovato relaunched her singing career at last year’s Grammy Awards and sang the national anthem at the 2020 Super Bowl before the coronavirus pandemic broke out. Last month, Lovato sang on a TV special marking the inauguration of President Joe Biden.
Despite his near-death experience, Lovato would not change what happened to her. “Everything had to happen for me to learn the lessons I learned,” she said. “I look back and sometimes I feel sad when I think about the pain I had to endure to overcome what I went through. I am very proud of the person I am today. One of the main reasons why I am performing is that I never have to live this life again. “
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