Demi Lovato discusses how her ‘daddy issues’ fueled her pursuit of child stardom and success
Demi Lovato has matured and is now sharing her thoughts on being a child star.
The former “Sonny with a Chance” star opened up in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter about her challenges with fame and her forthcoming Disney documentary on child stars.
“Part of me always believed that if I succeeded in the industry, I would earn the love from my birth father that I missed. He had his own issues, and I feel like I pursued success hoping it would get his attention and make him proud,” Lovato expressed to the outlet, visibly emotional.
“However, now that I’ve worked through those daddy issues, I don’t rely on the industry as I used to, and I take pride in that,” she added.
Lovato both stars in and directs “Child Star,” featuring fellow celebrities like Christina Ricci (“The Addams Family”), Raven-Symoné (“That’s So Raven”), Drew Barrymore (“E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial”), JoJo Siwa (“Dance Moms”), and Kenan Thompson (“Kenan & Kel,” “All That”), who also achieved fame as kids or teenagers.
The documentary will premiere on Hulu, owned by The Walt Disney Company, on September 17.
Lovato’s latest doc project serves as a sort of sequel to her YouTube Originals series “Demi Lovato: Dancing With the Devil,” which examined her battles following a near-fatal overdose in 2018 that resulted in three strokes and a heart attack.
In her conversation with THR, she voiced a preference for being on Nickelodeon over Disney Channel, noting that Nickelodeon stars were not held to the same standards of purity.
“Disney made you an immediate role model, whether that was something you wanted or not,” Lovato explained. “And given Disney Channel’s immense popularity, there was this unspoken expectation that if you made a mistake, millions were just waiting to take your place.”
According to THR, in “Child Star,” Alyson Stoner, Lovato’s co-star from “Camp Rock,” reveals her concerns about Lovato’s behavior during the high-profile sequel, admitting it was a tense conversation.
“I remember feeling like I was walking on eggshells,” Stoner, who uses they/them pronouns, shared in “Child Star,” as reported by THR. “There was definitely a fear of a potential eruption.”
