Demi Lovato says management ‘controlled’ her in leotards and stilettos

Demi Lovato is opening up on her past pop days, even alleging that her management forced her to portray an image she didn’t personally align with.

The singer, 30, is now ushering in a punk rock era via her new Holy Fvk album, and she’s been speaking out. Opening up to Apple Music 1 in August, the former Disney star slammed those managing her in prior days, revealing:

“The team that was around me was dictating my decisions and trying to influence the direction that I was going. I didn’t know who I was, and I had a team that was trying to force me into a direction to be this hyper-feminine pop star. And I was so unhappy doing that.”

The former Disney star noted being signed for her first record label deal at 15, adding:

“I started to lose myself as well as myself as an artist and honestly, it didn’t reflect what was inside of me.  I would get on stage, and I’d be in these leotards and these stiletto shoes that I was miserable in. And I danced. I did choreography and stuff like that, and I just wasn’t happy.” Of her new EP, Demi stated:

“Everything that I write about comes from personal experiences, and I had gone through a rough time last year. I went back to treatment, and when I came out, I had all of this unresolved trauma that I hadn’t dealt with or that I started to deal with in treatment. And then when I came out, I was like, “It’s okay to be angry and feel those things.” 

In 2018, Lovato made headlines for suffering a near-fatal drug overdose that put her addiction issues at the forefront of the media lens. In her interview, the Confident hitmaker noted finding herself under the “microscope” before dishing on advice she’d give her former self.

“I would say, “You’re beautiful. You don’t need to lose weight. You don’t need to judge yourself so hard.” But I couldn’t have been able to comprehend those words at that time anyways. I just was in a position where everything I did was under a microscope, and so finding myself was under a microscope as well,” she said.

Demi is also known for successfully battling eating disorders including anorexia and bulimia.