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Demi Lovato and Drew Barrymore have reflected on the dangers they faced growing up in the entertainment industry as child actors.
Sitting down to discuss the highs and lows of their childhood ascent to stardom for Lovato’s new documentary, Child Star, the two actors recalled being given “substances” at a young age.
“There are such big feelings that I’ve had since you told me you were doing this,” Barrymore, 49, said to Lovato in the documentary. “I know that things that have happened along the way though, certain excess and certain behaviors and certain looking the other way or certain forcing things, has led to my own rebellion or downfall.
“But again, those were all my action, those were my reactions, that was my coping mechanism,” said the ET star, who landed her first acting gig at just 11 months old. “I’m very accountable, I don’t blame other people.”
“Well, it’s hard to say that you don’t blame other people when other people may have been giving you substances as a kid,” Lovato, 32, responded before asking Barrymore: “How old were you when you were first given something?”
“I used to get high with my mom’s friend at like 10. And I thought she was so cool, and she would give weed to me and her son,” she replied, with Lovato arguing: “I would say it’s hard to not blame someone else when you’re ten years old.”
While Barrymore said that now being the mother of a 10-year-old daughter has changed her perspective on her “unfathomable” childhood, she conceded: “But that’s just how I grew up.”
Barrymore, who is now sober, has previously spoken publicly about her past struggles with substance abuse. At age 13, the Charlie’s Angels star was placed into an institution by her mother.
“I was doing drugs. I was out of control. She just threw her hands up and threw me in there, not knowing where else to turn to,” she said on a 2020 episode of her eponymous talk show. “And that place really did help me and it did save my life, and I actually wouldn’t change a thing.”
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Elsewhere in the documentary, Lovato, who similarly faced substance addiction, spoke with former child star Christina Ricci about her experiences with drugs and alcohol.
The Addams Family actor Ricci, now 44, remembered she “immediately went right to drugs and alcohol in my teens.” “I don’t remember feeling like there was any other way to be happy,” she admitted.
Lovato later shared with fellow Disney star Alyson Stoner that “finding drugs was easy. That was the only way I knew how to escape.”
The Camp Rock star herself has also been candid about her journey to sobriety. Last year, she opened up about her near-fatal overdose in 2018, saying that after the incident, she felt like she was “walking in a coma.”
Co-directed by Lovato and Nicola Marsh, Child Star sees Lovato meet with well-known former child stars Ricci, Barrymore, Stoner, Raven-Symoné, Kenan Thompson and JoJo Siwa to examine how childhood fame has affected their futures.
Child Star is out now on Hulu.
If you or someone you know is suffering from alcohol addiction, you can confidentially call the national alcohol helpline Drinkline on 0300 123 1110 or visit the NHS website here for information about the programmes available to you.
If you or someone you know is suffering from drug addiction, you can seek confidential help and support 24-7 from Frank, by calling 0300 123 6600, texting 82111, sending an email or visiting their website here.
In the US, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration can be reached at 1-800-662-HELP.
