Demi Lovato is great and all, and I’m glad that she can be an inspiration to so many young girls who have suffered from (or are still suffering from) an eating disorder, bipolar disorder and/or self-harming. I gotta say, though – I wish she’d sorta change the record a bit. She’s “opened up” so many times about her struggles, her trip to rehab and subsequent recovery that I feel like I’ve been brainwashed like Zoolander was by Mugatu, except instead of killing the Prime Minister of Malaysia, I’m just… tired of hearing this f-cking story.

From Nightline:

Struggling with depression, bipolar disorder and an eating disorder through her pre-teen and teenage years is something that Lovato has been outspoken about. At age 11, she said, she started cutting herself.

“I had been battling with depression for years, and an eating disorder for years, and I had been self-harming, and other things, self-medicating, and I just wasn’t happy anymore, and I needed to, I needed to change my life,” Lovato said. “There were times beforehand where I had had meltdowns, or things like that, and my mom begged me to go into treatment, but I told her I would get better.”

Finally, she realized she needed to get help.

“When I finally didn’t get better, I knew that I was in trouble, and I knew that I couldn’t do it on my own,” she said. “So, whether I liked it or not, if I wanted to continue to live, and have a long career, or just be happy, then I needed to listen to what my management team and my family was saying, and go into treatment.”

Lovato went through two stints in rehab, and while she said it helped, she still battles with her disorders every day. She recently became an honorary chairwoman for this year’s Mental Health Awareness Day, hosted by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to help raise awareness.

“I can’t sit here and say that I am Miss Recovery … that I’ll be that way for the rest of my life,” she said. “You don’t know, and that’s why you have to take it a day at a time.”

I don’t want to reduce the seriousness of what Demi went through (and is still going through – you’re not just miraculously better overnight from these issues) or the work she’s doing now to raise awareness for others, but I sort of feel bad that this is such a central focus of ANY press done about her these days. She’s got a new single out that’s doing fantastic, but I guarantee that any article about her or interview with her you see will talk about her mental health issues, etc.

Demi Lovato and Joe Jonas used to date back in the day until he unceremoniously dumped her out of nowhere because it was his “choice” to do so. While Demi was mad at him for a long time, she says they’re totally tight now! It’s not at all awkward or strange… except for the times it is, of course.

From ABC’s Nightline News:

For a few months in 2010, Lovato famously dated Joe Jonas of the famed Jones Brothers. While their relationship and eventual break-up made them a constant paparazzi target, Lovato said the two are now friends — Jonas even tweeted congrats to Lovato for “Demi” this week — but it wasn’t always so easy.

“When you go through heartbreaks and things like that, you always have in mind somebody,” she said. “It’s like when you hear a song on the radio that reminds you of somebody, you’re going to be reminded. But keeping that in mind … it’s a delicate balance.

“We were in a relationship and we broke up, and at one point, I was really mad at him,” Lovato continued. “Now, I can, fortunately, say, that him, and his brother Nick, have always been there for me, and are literally family, and like brothers … we have a great friendship. And we may not be as close as we used to be, but that’s OK.”

Demi Lovato got one of those classic Pinterest/Tumblr inspirational quote tattoos. Obviously it means something very important and special to her, or she wouldn’t have gotten it on her back in an oddly curved fashion in a classic Microsoft Word freebie font. I’m sorry, I’m being a bitch. It’s the meaning of the tattoo that’s important, and if she feels like a warrior, power to her. Here’s the story behind it, from Pop Tats:

As you can see by checking out Demi Lovato’s newtattoo, her powerful “Warrior” lyrics and the rest of the songs on her brand new Demi album, just when you think the songstress is down, she’s definitely not out. And Demi clearly feels strongly enough about the message she puts across in “Warrior” that she decided to add a tattoo inspired by the lyrics to her already impressive tattoo collection. Many of Demi Lovato’s tattoos in the past have been inked as emotional reminders to herself that she is beautiful the way she is and that she can stay strong in the face of adversary [...]

She also has a tattoo covering her arm that says “faith” and has birds flying around it.

I don’t know, I guess this is better than Miley’s “Love Never Dies” tattoo. Except that I like Miley’s font better. So I’m not sure. But I AM certain that any tattoo anyone gets ever is going to be better than Justin Biebers’ tattoo collection.

AND ESPECIALLY Ryan Cabrera’s (I had to look his name up in our archives because I’ve forgotten it since I wrote about him) Ryan Gosling tattoo.

Ladies, be brave today… take off your make-up and stop using those filters!! WE are beautiful!!!

She then tweeted a “selfie” that shows her clearly wearing make-up. Not a lot, but come on. She’s wearing mascara, blush, tinted lip balm and perhaps a touch of concealer or foundation on her face somewhere. At least when Amanda Bynes tweets her selfies she doesn’t deny the pounds of make-up she’s wearing.

The message was a good one, though, and Ms. Lovato got a lot of tweets back of her proud barefaced fans.

To all my Lovatics – if you come across haters, show them love. We don’t bully back or retaliate. That’s not what we are about!!

So many GORGEOUS faces [...] Not enough battery left on my phone!!! Haha love you ALL!!!

Really though, certain Instagram filters are great replacements for make-up.

I’m glad that Ms. Lovato is embracing herself, as she’s been open about her struggles with eating disorders. That shit’s not easy.

There are two empty spots at the X Factor USA judges table after Britney Spears‘ swift departure at the end of season two and the “THANK GOD HE’S GONE!” exit of LA Reid, and of course those places need to be filled… but by who? The show hasn’t taken off in America the way Simon Cowell probably hoped it would, and like American Idol (which long ago wore out its welcome), the network relies on throwing a massive paycheck at the biggest stars possible in a hope of garnering a bigger audience. Simon is a fossil at this point and isn’t going anywhere and Demi Lovato is cute but let’s be honest – no one really cares much about her. What could put this sinking ship afloat again? Well, Demi thinks Lady GaGa just might save the day – even though she hasn’t been asked back herself just yet.

From Extra:

Demi told Renee she would “love” to return to X Factor if her schedule allows. “I’m focusing on my music this year, so it’s going to be a lot of touring, a lot of promoting of my album… but I would love to. Obviously, if they asked for me to come back, I’d say yes.”

With Britney Spears exiting the competition show, she would love to see another superstar take her place. “I would love to see Lady Gaga. I don’t know if that is possible or not,” she said.

Well, it could be technically possible – GaGa is about to undergo surgery for some chronic pain issues so she’ll have nothing better to do than sit around while she’s on the mend. However, imagine how absolutely insufferable The X Factor would be if you had to sit around watching her in a designer spider suit or whatever weird shit she says, advising wannabe superstars on, I don’t know, how to perform while painting a self-portrait with your toes while hanging from a flaming cross or whatever. One Lady GaGa is more than enough since one Madonna was – in her heyday, anyway – just the right amount.  I think I’ll pass on this one.

Anyway, check out Demi (with her rhinestone cast!) and some other stars at the Topshop LA opening party last night below.

Demi Lovato has been through a lot – self-harming, a serious struggle with bulimia, rehab, having to date a Jonas Brother… you get the picture. While she’s doing a lot better now (despite breaking her foot on a shiny floor), she’s still pretty pissed off that people in Hollywood don’t talk all that much about the pressures and fame and own up to their own struggles with body image, because if they had, she might not have had to deal with it herself.

From Cosmo On Campus (via DigitalSpy):

“I was about 12 or 13 when I developed my eating disorder, and at that time nobody in the public eye talked about their body issues. I feel that if someone had admitted they had a problem, then I wouldn’t have gone down that route myself.

“That’s my goal in talking about my problems. I want to be the person for other girls that I needed to admire when I was looking for help and strength. It’s okay to love your body the way it is and it’s okay to reach out for help if you have drug and alcohol problems, or if you’re self-harming or being bullied.”

Good for her, in one sense, for wanting to help young girls who look up to her and hopefully help them avoid some of the tough experiences she herself had, but in another sense, what she did in admitting her troubles was brave and could have theoretically ruined her career. It’s no wonder that the myriad (and yes, I think they are that plentiful in numbers) of female stars who struggle with eating disorders, drug abuse, etc. are reluctant to share them – the pain, embarrassment and potential to compromise their spot in the industry are not very inviting, to say the least. It’s the media’s standards that need to change. The less girls feel that they have to fit into a certain bracket to be “perfect”, the less they’ll resort to harmful and dangerous methods in an attempt to achieve it, which will trickle down to “regular” girls, as well.

Of course, I’m probably living in a dream world and won’t hold my breath for that, but maybe one day…

I know what you’re thinking: Demi Lovato has a roommate? That X Factor money ain’t shit! Well, she does, and said roommate’s lights are on upstairs but apparently no one’s home, because she decided last week to clean the hardwood floors of the pair’s Los Angeles place with Pledge, leaving them extremely slippery and perfect for Demi to fall and break her leg on. Ouch. That sort of makes us twins, as I broke my ankle in early January and still have two weeks left of this idiotic cast before I can even think about getting that sweet removable moon boot that Demi’s rocking:

Demi’s cast

My cast and Milo

Demi had a word of warning to others who might have stupid roommates when she tweeted:

“Never, ever, ever, EVER let your roommate clean your hardwood floors with Pledge….”

Got you, girl. Incidentally, I have a 5-in-1 floor steamer that cleans the shit out of floors (and ovens/stovetops, steams clothes, dusts blinds, need I go on?) – I recommend you look into it.

Ok, so you remember that time that Demi Lovato went to rehab, right? It was in the fall of 2010, and it wasn’t good. You know, she had that eating disorder, and she was cutting herself, and there was also that whole thing about cocaine. She wasn’t doing so great.

But now, just over two years later, Demi is doing pretty well for herself. She’s back to her music, and she just got paid an astronomical amount of money to do X-Factor. Yep, things are looking pretty good for Demi Lovato these days. But also, she’s been living in a sober living facility pretty much since she left rehab. Surprise!

The house is in L.A., natch, where Demi also owns a pretty sweet home of her own. She chose to live there instead because she “felt she needed the support and guidance” from the people there. She doesn’t know when she’s leaving, but she’s getting good things from being there now, which is what’s important.

Really, I just love this story. I love that Demi’s taking care of herself this hard, and I also love that we’ve never heard about it until now. This makes me hope that all those rumors about a relapse are just rumors, and that she’s just been chilling in her sober house, doing what she needs to do to survive. Love it.

Here’s full-size Britney:

And full-size Demi:

So go ahead, guys—tell me how you really feel: who did their dress better?

Anyway, let’s forget about Von D for a second, because hey—we should celebrate Demi’s 24th tattoo, which comes a few months after her 20th birthday. On a side note, how is it that Demi seems so much older than Miley Cyrus, who also turned 20 over the last few days? And wow! on your tattoos. Twenty-four, huh? I’m 29 and I only have 5 tattoos. I thought I had 6, but I miscounted somewhere (maybe; I gave up after the first recount). COFFEE. I’VE HAD A LOT OF IT TODAY.

Here’s Demi’s newest tattoo, which is actually a few tattoos in one, and yes, I do wonder if she’s counting them as one or individually:

What do you guys think? I like it all except for all of that ‘faith’ business. Not that there’s anything wrong with faith, of course, the script just kind of takes away from the pretty birdies. You know.

So, alright. Girl can sing. Not bad, OK? I just liked Zooey‘s rendition much better. Here’s hers, and you can tell me your thoughts:

Thoughts?

In conclusion, ugh. Does Demi Lovato have the worst taste in footwear of all time or what? Someone’s really got to step in and do something about that. No, you know, pun intended.