On Tuesday July 24, singer, Demi Lovato, 25, was hospitalised from a drug overdose after six years of sobriety. Lovato was found unconscious in her bed by an assistant in her Hollywood Hills home at around 11 a.m. Once emergency services had arrived, Lovato was revived by emergency medication, Narcan, to reverse the effects of a narcotic overdose and was then taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Reports have indicated that it was a heroin overdose; however, multiple sources close to the former Disney star denied such accusations, saying that she had not overdosed on heroin.
However, both Lovato and the other people in the house at the time were uncooperative with the LAPD officers over the alleged drug overdose, revealing as little information as possible when questioned. After an investigation by LAPD, the officers had reported that there were no drug related evidences at her home.
From the recording of the 911 call that was released, it is evident that the female who had made the call was not willing to share any information regarding the singer with the dispatcher, choosing to ignore the questions which were asked. The unidentified female also seemed unusually calm during the call. When the dispatcher told the caller “you should be hearing the sirens real soon”, the caller seemed alarmed saying “Wait, no sirens please, right?” The dispatcher was quick to reply with “No, no, this is a medical emergency. I don’t have control over that. … This is definitely a medical emergency and we need to get there as fast as possible.”
The singer had attended a birthday party for one of her backup dancers and had spent the night partying with members of her tour at the Saddle Ranch Club in West Hollywood. The party continued until closing time, with several sources confirming that Lovato was ‘definitely drinking’ and that ‘her friends around her were cheering her on.’ Lovato had recently started hanging out with a new group of friends just weeks before the supposed overdosing and her use of drugs and alcohol began to increase. She had fired her sobriety coach, three weeks before her alleged overdosing.
The singer was last seen at a concert in California on Sunday night, where she appeared to have forgotten the lyrics of her recently released song, ‘Sober.’ Earlier this month she was spotted leaving a club early in the morning with friend and fellow performer, G-Easy.
Mike Manning, a close friend and her long-time guitarist, expressed his disgust towards the people who were with Lovato at the time of the incident, tweeting: “Anybody who was with Demi last night and actually call themselves friends should actually be disgusted with themselves. SICK!!”
He continued on twitter, writing “You can never trust anyone. Never can know if your ‘friends’ are truly on your side or not”, and that he planned to individually expose all those who were involved with Lovato the night before, stating ‘I almost lost my sister today.’
The former Disney star had previously suffered from drug abuse and alcoholism. At the age of 17, she had first tried her hand at cocaine while rising to fame on the popular Disney series ‘Sonny with a chance’, where she played the title role. Lovato even went to the extent of finding creative ways to sneak drugs onto planes and past her team who were keeping close tabs on her. In 2010, she withdrew from the Jonas Brother tour and entered herself into a rehab facility in Chicago where she was treated for bipolar disorder, bulimia, self-harm and addiction. However, she had relapsed after she had left the treatment centre. Lovato had continued to get help by entering a sober living facility for a year.
Lovato has spoken quite openly about her struggle, sharing her journey with the public, even releasing a documentary on MTV called “Demi Lovato: Stay Strong” in which she detailed her recovery story in rehab. In 2017, she released a YouTube documentary, Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated, where she revealed that her treatment in rehab was not entirely successful, saying that she was struggling with cocaine and alcohol for a year after that. She even went on to say that she was under the influence of cocaine while being interviewed on “Demi Lovato: Stay Strong” back in 2012.
The singer was handling her sobriety quite well after living in a sober house, with sources stating that she did not go to clubs, she prioritised her work and remained on top of schedule. Earlier this year, Lovato had celebrated six years of sobriety, but by April rumours doubting her sobriety started circulating. It was later revealed that when she released her single ‘Sober’ in June she had relapsed.
Prior to her overdose, Lovato was on tour and was scheduled to perform in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Thursday; however, the show has been cancelled as she will be taking a break from her performances as announced by ‘Live Nation’, an entertainment company. Demi Lovato is expected to resume her tour in September.
As of Thursday, the 26th of July, the singer remains in hospital and is reportedly suffering from nausea and high fever but is expected to make a full recovery. There is speculation that she plans to enter rehab as soon as she is released but her representatives are yet to confirm whether she will seek help. She has received an outpouring of support from both fans and fellow celebrities including Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande and three Jonas brothers.