Dancing With Devils: On Demi Lovato and Recovery

CW: Addiction, suicidal episode

Originally published at https://www.splicetoday.com.

I hope Demi Lovato is okay. Three years after their near fatal heroin overdose, the singer returned earlier this year with both a new album and docuseries titled Dancing with the Devil detailing what led to their relapse. This isn’t Lovato’s first comeback documentary; 2012’s Stay Strong came out two years after their first stint in rehab, followed by 2017’s Simply Complicated, where Lovato revealed they were still using while filming Stay Strong. Lovato sings on the album’s closing track that they’re finally “in a good place,” and it seems like they are. They’re out as nonbinary, moderately drinks and smokes weed, and can finally control their food consumption.

Not everyone is convinced. Psychologist Dr. Kirk Honda, who reviewed Dancing with the Devil in a series of YouTube videos, says he’s seen a lot of clients that, like Lovato, tried to break their addictions with moderate use, but failed. One of my Facebook friends recently said she refuses to listen to Lovato’s music because “it seems like quite literally every single thing they do is a cry for attention and/or a publicity stunt.” (Lovato’s recent clash with fro-yo shop The Bigg Chill didn’t help, either.) Since Dancing with the Devil isn’t Lovato’s first time making a…