Demi Lovato was almost destroyed by early fame, said Kate Williams in Nylon. At age 7, she landed a role on TV’s Barney & Friends, which led to star turns in Disney Channel movies and shows, and the release of several hit albums. But as her celebrity grew, so did her dangerous behavior. By the time she was 17, the singer and actress had stopped eating regularly and taken up drinking, doing drugs, and cutting herself. “My parents tried to control me, but I’d be like, ‘I’m grounded? Well, I pay the bills,’” says Lovato, 21. “I thought that if I was adult enough to get there, then I could party like an adult. And obviously I couldn’t.” After taking a swing at one of her backup dancers during a 2010 tour, Lovato agreed to enter rehab and get clean. During her three-month treatment, the pop star was diagnosed as bipolar, which finally put her emotional struggles into context. “There were times where I was playing for thousands of people, then I’d get on my tour bus, like, ‘Why can’t you just be happy? What is wrong with you?’ It was a relief to be like, ‘Oh, my God, it’s not me, it’s my brain.’”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Superboys of Malegaon: 'uplifting' Indian love letter to scrappy filmmakingThe Week Recommends 'Feelgood' comedy about a group of friends who make their own versions of Bollywood hits
-
The week's best photosIn Pictures Rio’s dirtiest party, a pancake-flipping race, and more
-
Properties of the week: residences for croquet enthusiastsThe Week Recommends Featuring homes in Devon, Dorset and Oxfordshire
