Demi Lovato has always been an over-sharer.
Famous since middle school, her trajectory from Disney child star to pop-music sensation has at times demanded constant sharing across her social channels; she has more than 153 million followers on Instagram.
On larger screens, her life has been chronicled in two searing documentaries: 2017's Simply Complicated, in which she opens up about an eating disorder, cutting and substance abuse, and 2021's Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil, which chronicles her recovery from sexual assault and a near-fatal overdose, two strokes, a heart attack and multiple organ failures.
Photo credit: Angelo Kritikos/Disney
It turns out Lovato is also a pretty good listener. Child Star, her third documentary, marks her directorial debut (codirected with Nicola Marsh). It explores the perils of child stardom through Lovato’s own experiences and those of other former child stars, including Drew Barrymore, JoJo Siwa, Raven-Symoné, Christina Ricci, Kenan Thompson and Alyson Stoner, Lovato’s costar in 2008’s Camp Rock.
These interviews — each revealing, funny and painful — are the beating heart of the film. Ricci and Lovato compare notes about disguising on-set alcohol consumption with Diet Coke cans. While commiserating about eating disorders, Stoner recalls finding Lovato purging during production of Camp Rock. And Barrymore and Lovato talk about the weight of adult expectations on young shoulders. Recalling her first commercial (for Puppy Chow, at 11 months of age), Barrymore says ruefully, "I have been working ever since, except when I was institutionalized."
"I really wanted to do a great job interviewing," Lovato says. She spent considerable time researching her subjects' life stories. "I wanted to have this human connection with them. So before going into the interview, I would memorize my questions, and then I would try to forget them all because I wanted to just listen and connect."
Since Child Star’s September premiere on Hulu, Lovato has increasingly leaned into the film’s activist intentions. She used an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to cajole California Governor Gavin Newsom to sign legislation that protects child influencers and content creators from financial abuse. The new laws update 1939’s Coogan Law, which requires guardians of child actors to set aside a percentage of their earnings in a blocked trust, and which will now include protections for minors featured in online content.
"If you don’t use your platform for good, I just find it to be a very self-serving and egocentric career to have," Lovato says. "I’ve always believed in being an open book, because my story can help others."
This article originally appeared in emmy magazine, issue #6, 2025, under the title "A New Direction."
