MTV doc ‘Stay Strong:’ Demi Lovato inspires by opening up about ongoing struggles with depression, bulimia, and cutting
19-year-old Demi Lovato has become one of the strongest role models young women have today, and it’s not because she projects an image of goody-two-shoes perfection. She’s one of the most truly inspiring pop stars we have because she’s so open and honest about the tough things in life, and in her new documentary “Stay Strong,” airing on MTV Tuesday @ 10 EST, Demi further takes us into her relatable world.
Disney star Demi Lovato shocked fans when she entered rehab for cutting and bulimia, and emotional issues after she punched a back-up dancer at the airport. Demi was axed from Disney Channel show Sonny with an Chance, and as always happens, people speculated that her career would suffer.
But Demi turned her greatest struggles as her greatest opportunities. When she got out of rehab, Demi didn’t downplay her issues, a strategy many young starlets use. Demi has openly discussed her problems, and because of that made the best, most inspiring, and honest album of her career, Unbroken. Not every young women is dealing with exactly the same things Demi is dealing with, but almost every girl can relate to her in some way.
“People think that you’re like a car in a body shop. You go [to rehab], they fix you,” she says in the MTV doc, but “I’m not fixed, this is a daily battle.” Demi also admits that she has cut herself and purged since she left treatment, but she isn’t viewing these setbacks as failures. No matter what we struggle with in life, we are ALL works in progress. The goal isn’t to never make a mistake, it’s to always keep going, and improving, no matter what.
In the trailer, Demi says that she “hated” having to be a role model when she got into this industry, but what she probably really hated was having to cover up the truth about what she was going through. Now that’s she’s being open and honest, she can be a real role model, and she’s now helping so many young people every day.
“I never thought that I would be a role model. When I first started in the industry, everyone just kind of made me a role model, and I hated that.”
“I had so many issues underneath that needed to be taken care of. I had depression, I had developed an eating disorder, anorexia, bulimia, I cut myself. I thought ‘There’s no way that I’m gonna get better.’ It literally ended up driving me insane.
I went into treatment, and I realized ‘Why not air all my secrets.”
Demi recently spoke to MTV about why she made the documentary:
“My goals for my fans? It’s to really inspire people. That’s all I hope to accomplish. If there is a young girl at home dealing with the same issues that I’m dealing with, I want to be able to reach out to her and tell her that it’s going to be OK.
“You know, I speak about a lot of serious issues and I really hope to get awareness out there about the issues that I dealt with. But at the end of the day, I just want people to see what it’s like to be in my shoes. I kind of talked about the journey that I’ve been on and I just want people to take away a positive message. It gets better, you know?”
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An emotional live “Skyscraper” performance on Ellen:
Catch Demi Lovato: Stay Strong Tuesday night @ 10 PM EST on MTV.
