Entertainment
Demi Lovato’s near-fatal overdose stemmed from suppressing their gender identity
Demi Lovato has said that they overdosed in 2018 because they were suppressing their gender identity.
The 28-year-old today came out as non-binary, officially announcing that they are changing their pronouns to they/them.
In the first episode of their podcast 4D, in which Demi discussed their journey to coming out, the former Disney star said that their near-fatal overdose was related to them trying to be something they were not.
In July 2018, Demi was found unconscious at their home after overdosing on opioids laced with fentanyl, which they thought was heroin, and suffered three strokes and a heart attack; the singer has been left with brain damage and blind spots in their vision.
Demi told friend Alok Vaid-Menon on the podcast: ‘In 2018, when I overdosed, I feel like the reason why that happened was because I was ignoring my truth, and I was suppressing who I really am in order to please stylists or team members or even fans that wanted me to be the sexy feminine popstar in a leotard and look a certain way, I thought that was what I was supposed to be.
‘Now I realise it’s so much more important to live your truth than to ever suppress yourself because that’s the kind of stuff that happens when you do.’
Alok, who is gender non-conforming, suggested that some critics would claim that Demi was coming out as non-binary for attention, to which they said: ‘I could leave my career today, I’m still going to identify as non-binary tomorrow. For the first time in my life, I’m putting my wellbeing before my career, and that’s the difference in somebody, I guess, doing something for attention versus somebody speaking their truth, in that I know that not everybody is going to love that this is me and this is my truth.
‘I know that it’s going to make some people react out of fear. I know that it’s going to make some people question their own lives and their own situations. Like I said, I have compassion for them. But this is my truth, and I can’t shove it down or suppress it any longer, because I’ll end up where I did a few years ago and I never want to end up there again.’
In their documentary series Dancing With The Devil, Demi said that they used drugs as a ‘destructive coping mechanism’, saying they ‘turned to those coping mechanisms because I genuinely was in so much pain that I didn’t want to die and I didn’t know what else to do.’
The Sorry Not Sorry singer announced that they realised they are non-binary after a period of ‘healing and self-reflective work’.
Demi wrote on Instagram: ‘Every day we wake up, we are given another opportunity and chance to be who we want and wish to be. I’ve spent the majority of my life growing in front of all of you… you’ve seen the good, the bad, and everything in between. Not only has my life been a journey for myself, I was also living for those on the other side of the cameras.
‘Today is a day I’m so happy to share more of my life with you all – I am proud to let you know that I identify as non-binary and will officially be changing my pronouns to they/them moving forward 💖 This has come after a lot of healing and self-reflective work. I’m still learning and coming into myself, and I don’t claim to be an expert or a spokesperson.
‘Sharing this with you now opens another level of vulnerability for me. I’m doing this for those out there that haven’t been able to share who they truly are with their loved ones. Please keep living in your truths and know I am sending so much love your way.’
Demi has been in the public eye since 2007, when they landed the role of Charlotte Adams in the Disney series As The Bell Rings, followed by the role of Mitchie Torres in Camp Rock.
Their seventh studio album, Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over was released this year.
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