Demi Lovato Reflects On Balancing Fame, Addiction, And Identity

Demi Lovato, who uses she/they pronouns, is getting real about the highs and lows of growing up in the spotlight.

The Disney alum, who’s faced their fair share of personal struggles, is now finding peace by embracing their true self—outside of the fame.

Reflecting on being thrust into Hollywood at a young age, Demi Lovato opened up about their journey of self-discovery, revealing that she had to learn that her career was completely separate from her identity.

Ahead of “Child Star,” a new documentary set to air on Hulu next week, Demi is taking a deep dive into what it really means to grow up in the spotlight.

The project, which features iconic names like Drew Barrymore, JoJo Siwa, Kenan Thompson, Raven-Symoné, Christina Ricci, and Alyson Stoner, combines past and present footage of these stars reflecting on their early fame.

Demi, now 32, opened up to People Magazine about her own journey, admitting that she had to come to terms with the fact that “my career is completely separate from my identity.”

“It was entangled and enmeshed when I was younger because my brand was such a huge part of who I was at the time. I confused the two, and I was so young that I wasn’t able to separate the difference between what my brand was and who I was as a person,” Demi told People. “But as I’ve gotten older… knowing how to differentiate the two has been one of the biggest lessons that I’ve learned in my life.”

“And I no longer value my success or equate my success with self-worth,” the former Disney star added.

Both actresses came of age in a different era of Hollywood, and their insights helped shape Demi’s evolving view of navigating fame from such a young age.

“[Drew] has so much wisdom and experience with being in the public eye for so long. I feel like I learned so much from her,” the 32-year-old told People. “But what was interesting was talking to her about her experience pre-camera phones and pre-social media. There was more anonymity.”

In her upcoming documentary “Child Star,” Demi reflects on those conversations and how they’ve influenced her understanding of separating her career from her true identity.

“Christina Ricci and Drew Barrymore, they had a different experience, and getting to talk to them about that was really interesting,” she said.

Demi shot to stardom after landing the lead role in Disney Channel’s “Camp Rock,” which catapulted her into the spotlight. She quickly became a household name, starring in “Princess Protection Program” and headlining her own Disney series, “Sonny With a Chance.”

As if that wasn’t enough, Demi was also dropping albums and hitting the road for tours—both solo and alongside the Jonas Brothers—all in just a few whirlwind years.

“I was filled with gratitude, and there was this sense of wonder and excitement,” she recalled of her teen years when speaking to The Hollywood Reporter. “It was very much the honeymoon phase of my career, right before the train got moving in a way where I couldn’t pump the brakes.”

“I think I’d passed the threshold of what I could withstand emotionally and physically,” she added. “And I didn’t realize that child stardom could be traumatic — and it isn’t traumatic for everyone, but for me, it was.”

The singer continued, “I think about people in the wardrobe department on my TV show because I’d go in there in bad moods all the time, and I worry about guest stars that came on or the other actors or the people during ‘Camp Rock 2.’ And it’s easy to excuse that behavior because I was so young and in so much pain, but I’m really remorseful, and that’s a guilt that stays with you forever.”

Demi has never shied away from discussing the darker side of fame.

By her late teens, she was grappling with intense struggles, including body image issues, self-esteem battles, and the pressures of mental health. Demi has been brutally honest about her fight with bulimia, self-harm, and addiction, opening up about turning to drugs and alcohol as a way to cope.

She has transformed her personal struggles into a powerful platform for advocacy. She continues to be a strong voice for mental health awareness, recovery, and self-acceptance, using her experiences to help break the stigma surrounding these issues.