Over the edge
A new documentary reveals how Demi Lovato’s drug use brought her to the brink of death
DEMI Lovato is lucky to be alive. In a trailer for her new documentary, “Demi Lovato: Dancing With the Devil,” the singer reveals she suffered three strokes and a heart attack in the aftermath of her 2018 overdose.
“I had crossed a line that I had never crossed before . . . I snapped,” Lovato, 28, says in the clip. “I had three strokes. I had a heart attack. My doctors said that I had five to 10 more minutes [to live].
“I had so much to say over the past two years, wanting to set the record straight about what it was that happened,” she adds. “Any time that you suppress a part of yourself, it’s gonna overflow.”
While the exact cause of the overdose has never been confirmed, TMZ reported in 2018 that it was likely oxycodone laced with fentanyl.
When questioned as to whether she’s “entirely sober now,” Lovato says nothing while continuing to stare into the camera. The fourpart series, directed by Michael D. Ratner, will also cover the “I Love Me” singer’s heroin use, the coronavirus pandemic and her quickie romance, engagement and subsequent split with Max Ehrich.
During the virtual TCA press tour Wednesday, Lovato explained that she was left with brain damage following the overdose, and shed light on some of the other effects of its aftermath.
“I don’t drive a car because I have blind spots in my vision,” she told reporters, according to “Entertainment Tonight.” “For a long time, [I] had a really hard time reading. Reading was a big deal when I was able to read out of a book, which was two months later because my vision was so blurry, I dealt with a lot of the repercussions and I think they are kind of still there to remind me of what could happen if I ever get into a dark place again.”
“Dancing With the Devil” premieres March 23 on YouTube.
“I had crossed a line that I had never crossed before . . .
I snapped.”
— Demi Lovato on her 2018 overdose, in the upcoming YouTube film “Demi Lovato: Dancing With the Devil.”