Demi Lovato, 32, may have been a child sensation on "Barney & Friends," "As the Bell Rings," and Camp Rock; however, she confronted the implications of this status in the documentary "Child Star."
In her directorial début, the Disney alum, along with her "Camp Rock" co-stars Alyson Stoner, Drew Barrymore, and Raven-Symoné, discussed their not-always-positive experiences with early fame.
“I didn’t realize that child stardom could be traumatic,” Demi mentioned in the Hulu program
“And it isn’t traumatic for everyone, but for me, it was.”
She disclosed that at one juncture, a number of her peers, who were referred to as the "popular girls," formulated a petition urging Demi to commit suicide, who subsequently struggled with substance abuse and mental health concerns, that she "should kill" herself, as per In Touch Weekly.
However, upon reflection, the "Sorry Not Sorry" singer acknowledged that she had also been unkind to others. After Alyson, 31, reluctantly consented to participate in the documentary, the two were required to engage in a "healing" conversation during which she disclosed her distress. Demi stated, "I'm genuinely sorry."
"I remember one time you followed me into the bathroom” Demi recounted her experiences during the filming of Camp Rock in the new Hulu documentary "Child Star," which she co-directed with Nicola Marsh. "I had been purging. And you picked up on it because your spidey senses were already in tune with those behaviors, and you followed me in and you talked to me," the performer stated.
After enduring the rigors of child stardom, Demi and Alyson have both disclosed their battles with eating disorders.
"I was really grateful that someone didn't just like shun me in that moment or shame me at all. I felt like you were very understanding," Demi remembered the occasion in two distinct ways: "One I was like, 'Oh my God, somebody knows, f---.' But two, I was really grateful that you were there for me."
Alyson immediately recollected the event, thereby confirming Demi's sentiment of gratitude. "I felt that support mutually, and feeling like we know that what we're dealing with at the surface level is just one part of the story of what we're going through each day," she added.
"Child Star" is the latest release dealing with the dark revelations of former child actors, a phenomenon kicked off by the release of "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV" in April. But Demi has been sharing her experiences since 2012, with the release of her first documentary, "Demi Lovato: Stay Strong" (2012), Entertainment Weekly reported.
She followed that up with "Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated" (2017) and "Demi Lovato: Dancing With the Devil" (2021), and for "Child Star," pulled in an all-star cast of former child and young adult actors to share their experiences, including Drew, Kenan Thompson, Christina Ricci, Jojo Siwa, and Raven.
