In the documentary titled "Child Star," Demi Lovato, who is now 32 years old, admits that despite the fact that she was a child star on shows such as "Barney & Friends," "As the Bell Rings," and "Camp Rock," she had a difficult time understanding what it meant to be a child star.
In her first directorial effort, the Disney veteran, along with other child stars such as Raven-Symoné, Drew Barrymore, and Alyson Stoner, who she co-starred with in "Camp Rock," discusses their experiences with early fame, particularly those that were not always positive.
“I didn’t realize that child stardom could be traumatic,” Demi said in the Hulu show, as per Star Magazine. “And it isn’t traumatic for everyone, but for me, it was.”
It is revealed by her that at one point in time, a number of her classmates, who she refers to as the "popular girls," drafted a "suicide" petition in which they advised Demi, who later struggled with difficulties related to mental health and substance abuse, that she "should kill" herself.
In retrospect, however, the singer of "Sorry Not Sorry" came to the realization that she had also been cruel to other people. Alyson had a "healing" conversation with Demi after she reluctantly agreed to appear in the documentary.
Upon hearing her suffering, Demi expressed her regret, “I’m genuinely sorry.”
Demi took some time to think about the times when she came to terms with the detrimental effects that fame had on her mental health.
“I didn’t realize that it would have such a negative impact on my mental health,” Demi (who uses she/they pronouns), 32, said of their experience with fame. “And unfortunately, sometimes that looks explosive, like an incident where you punch your backup dancer on an airplane or you overdose from heroin.”
Alex Welch, who was employed as a dancer on The Jonas Brothers tour at the time, was punched by Demi in the year 2010. The pop star sought treatment at a rehabilitation center as a result of the event. In 2018, Demi experienced a near-fatal drug overdose, as well as three strokes and a heart attack while she was hospitalized on many occasions.
The artist who is known for her song "Cool for the Summer" stated that she was able to make atonement for the manner that she behaved as a result of her participation in the documentary.
“Talking to people who knew me at a different time in my life was challenging because I wanted to apologize for my behavior," Demi said. "I wasn’t the nicest person to work with at times because I was struggling so much internally, and I was under a lot of pressure."
The singer went on to say that the experience of having chats with Raven-Symoné and Alyson Stoner in the documentary was "really cathartic."
"They were so lovely, so incredible, and so receptive, and I was so grateful for that,” Demi said.
Drew Barrymore, JoJo Siwa, Kenan Thompson, Raven-Symoné, Christina Ricci, and Alyson Stoner are among the celebrities that are included in the documentary "Child Star," which was released on September 17. The documentary includes interviews discussing their experiences of navigating stardom at a young age.
