Demi Lovato stopped by the Call Her Daddy podcast for an episode that aired Wednesday (Aug. 24) for a wide-ranging interview about her Disney Channel days, past drug use, and new album Holy Fvck.
During the chat, the singer dropped the bombshell that she first started using pills as a middle schooler, long before making a name for herself in the House of Mouse.
“I started experimenting for the first time when I was 12 or 13,” she told host Alex Cooper. “I got into a car accident and they prescribed me opiates. My mom didn’t think that she’d have to lock up the opiates from her 13-year-old daughter, but, like, I was already drinking at that point. I was, you know, had been bullied, was looking for an escape. And when my mom saw how many of the pills had disappeared and how fast they did, she took ’em away, locked them up.”
From that point, Lovato said she continued stealing her mom’s Xanax through her teenage years before trying cocaine for the first time at age 17, which she opened up about in her 2017 documentary Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated, and led to her entering in-patient treatment at 18.
The “Skin of My Teeth” singer hinted later in the interview that she’s revisiting her time at the Disney Channel with peers such as the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus and ex-bestie Selena Gomez from a new perspective. “I do have a project in the works where I want to talk to some of those people about their experiences [on Disney] and other child stars as well,” she teased.
Lovato is currently at the beginning of her tour in support of Holy Fvck, with the South American run of dates kicking off Aug. 30, with back-to-back dates in São Paulo, Brazil.
Watch Lovato’s full interview with Call Her Daddy below.
If you or anyone you know needs help with substance abuse, reach out to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for confidential help and resources 24/7.
