Demi Lovato is ready to speak out about her last year and where she is now. The singer, who has not given an extensive interview since she was hospitalized for an apparent drug overdose in July 2018, spoke at Teen Vogue‘s Summit yesterday about her health now.
“I think it’s been a very introspective year for me. I’ve learned a lot, been through a lot,” Lovato said, via Teen Vogue, adding that she has “changed a lot” too. The singer spoke about how she sees herself now, finding body acceptance, and the impact trolls online have on her.
When asked what she sees when she looks in the mirror, Lovato said, via The Hollywood Reporter, “I see someone that’s overcome a lot. I genuinely see a fighter. I don’t see a championship winner in there, but I see a fighter and I see someone that’s going to continue to fight no matter [what] challenges are thrown their way.”
“Genuinely I just want people to remember that I’m a singer,” she added, teasing that yes, new music is coming. “I think that a lot of the things I’ve been through kind of outshined my successes in the music industry or acting now. I just want people to remember that that’s what I want to give to the world so please focus on that and not the other things.”
Lovato also touched on body acceptance and how it is different than body positivity. “We hear the term body positivity all the time,” she told Teen Vogue’s editor-in-chief Lindsay Peoples Wagner. “To be honest, I don’t always feel positive about my body. Sometimes I do not like what I see. I don’t sit there and dwell on it. I also don’t lie to myself. I used to look in the mirror if I was having a bad body image day and say ‘I love my body, you’re beautifully and wonderfully made.’ But I didn’t believe it. I don’t have to lie to myself and tell myself I have an amazing body. All I have to say is ‘I’m healthy.’ In that statement, I express gratitude. I am grateful for my strength and things I can do with my body. I am saying I’m healthy and I accept the way my body is today without changing anything.”
“For so many years I dealt with an eating disorder,” she continued. “What I wasn’t ever open with myself about was, whenever I was in the gym I was doing it to an unhealthy. I think that’s what led me down a darker path—I was still engaging in these behaviors. Embracing my body as it is naturally is why I took the month of October off the gym.”
Lovato discussed the impact negative comments people write to her have on her. She urged fans to remember she’s human too. “What people don’t realize is I’m an extremely sensitive person,” she said. “When someone says something mean about me or makes a meme making fun of me, I have a good sense of humor. But when it’s a very serious subject it can be hurtful. Even if you have an account thats like ‘ImaDemiFan,’ that’s the name, and you leave one comment that said ‘You look like Lord Farquaad with that hair,’ I’m like, ‘damn, that kind of sucks.’ I’m so tired of pretending I’m not human. When you say stuff, it affects me. I try not to look, but I see it.”
Positive comments help, and she sees those too, she said. But it doesn’t completely take the sting out of hateful remarks. “When I’m able to see both sides, it pulls me out from zeroing in on the negative,” she admitted. “But I’m human and I think that’s important to remember.”