Demi Lovato Says Revealing 'Deepest, Darkest Struggles' Makes Good Role Models

Demi Lovato also performed her new single during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Demi Lovato has remained open about her struggles with addiction, an eating disorder, and, most recently, the impacts of those experiences on her health. The singer stopped by The Ellen DeGeneres Show today, performing her new song, “What Other People Say” with Sam Fischer, and talking about her revealing new docuseries.

The four-part series, called Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil, will document her 2018 near-fatal overdose and how she’s come out of that trauma with a new appreciation for the love and support she’s received. A press release for the show said it would offer “an honest look back at some of the most trying times in Lovato’s life as she unearths her prior traumas and discovers the importance of her physical, emotional, and mental health.”

“I talk about a lot [in the docuseries],” Lovato told DeGeneres. “The world has been so loving and accepting of me telling my story and just, there’s been so much love and support. What’s great is we live in a time when nobody’s perfect, and we’re not gonna get role models by watching people not make mistakes. We are going to meet and learn from our role models who have overcome their deepest darkest struggles,” she continued, “and I wanted to show everyone — first I wanted to set the record straight.”

Her overdose led to some serious health issues and the singer revealed just how close she came to death. “I had three strokes. I had a heart attack. My doctors said that I had five to ten more minutes,” she said in the trailer.

“There has been so much that I’ve wanted to say, but knew I had to say it right,” she wrote on Instagram in a post sharing news of the upcoming documentary. “Thank you to my family, friends, and fans for staying by my side over the years as I learn and grow. I’m so excited to finally share this story with you that I’ve held on to for the last 2 years.”

Lovato also credited hosting Ellen’s show last year with inspiring her to tell her truth. “Hosting The Ellen Show last year was the catalyst for my need and desire to express myself and my story to the fullest extent,” she said. “I knew that one appearance on a television show wasn’t going to cut it, I was not going to be able to share my whole story in one interview whether it was with a magazine or whatever it is. That’s why I wanted to turn it into a documentary.”