Demi Lovato sits down with The Hollywood Reporter during her THR cover shoot to discuss making her directorial debut with the Hulu documentary 'Child Star,' where she talks about the challenges of childhood fame. Plus, she hosts intimate conversations with other former child stars including Drew Barrymore, Christina Ricci, JoJo Siwa and Kenan Thompson. Plus, she talks about what it next for her in life moving forward.
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00:00I look at my future and I think what does my future hold for me and in order
00:06to figure out what I want for my future, I wanted to go back to the beginning and
00:11unpack the reasons why I got into the industry. Do they still resonate with me?
00:16I think it's really complex. I think that as grateful as I am for everything that
00:23I have experienced, there is sadness and there is grief over the lack of a
00:29childhood, a normal childhood that you would expect, you know, a 15-16 year old
00:35to have. I learned a lot and it also was the beginning of my dreams coming true
00:41so I'm very grateful at the same time.
00:46It was a cumulation of many different moments leading to this film. I think it
01:02was my experience as a child star myself and the fascination with the child stars
01:08that had come before me and after me. The experience co-directing was really,
01:12really fun, really exciting and I learned a lot. Working with Nicola Marsh, my
01:18co-director, was incredible. She's just so talented. You know, the reason why I
01:23wanted to come on as a co-director was because I also had a really strong
01:28vision for this film and what I wanted to bring to the table and it was great
01:33being able to interview people and really getting my hands dirty. My vision
01:38was basically doing a deep dive on child startup and the history surrounding
01:44child stars, how it affects the psyche, how it affects family dynamics, how it
01:52can possibly change someone's life. So there was just a lot to unpack there.
01:57With music, you kind of just go into the studio and you play music that's
02:03inspiring you, you chase a vibe, and most of the time you have an idea of what you
02:09want to write about. This film was, you don't really know what the other person
02:15is going to say when you're interviewing them.
02:20Each interview had something really special about it. You know, Drew Barrymore
02:25was very nurturing and very, very insightful. Then you go to someone like
02:30JoJo Siwa, who is a child star of this generation, you know, Gen Z. And how did
02:36that vary from the experiences that Drew, Alison, Raven, Kenan, Christina, and I all
02:44had. It was very fascinating. I learned things from each interview. Alison Stoner
02:50was extremely insightful and is so educated on this topic. We were able to
02:56reminisce on the past and how we have evolved as human beings to this day. It
03:02definitely didn't feel like we were kids again. I think it was easier for me to
03:07follow my dreams at a young age because I had my peers. I think that if I had been
03:13a child actor who rose to fame from a leading role in a franchise that didn't
03:22have other child actors in it, that would have been more difficult for me. I had
03:27other people that were my age that I could turn to and we could share our
03:32experiences with one another. And I think it was beneficial for me to have that
03:36support system. I asked a lot of people to be in the documentary and not everyone
03:41wanted to talk about their experiences. I think that this is a very vulnerable
03:46conversation to be had and that's okay. Not everyone is going to want to talk
03:50about that and there's nothing wrong with that.
03:56I wish that mental health had been more of a priority when it came to the
04:02awareness of how child stardom can affect someone of a young age in their
04:08most formative years. I think it's difficult when you talk about placing
04:12the blame on the industry and on, you know, maybe parents or agents or whatever
04:20whoever you're looking at to to place the blame on for maybe not giving the
04:24child the childhood that they had envisioned for themselves. But at the
04:31same time this is, you know, when I got into the industry at a young age I guess
04:36there was a conscious decision of are you okay sacrificing a normal childhood
04:43for your hopes and dreams. In that light I don't see a ton of blame on anyone for
04:50providing the experiences that I was given. But, you know, with that being said
04:56there are dark sides of the industry. With this project it I didn't want this
05:01to be an expose. I wanted it to be more of an informative experience for the
05:06viewer. Also understanding legislation that's trying to be passed right now for
05:10future generations of children that are working online already. So and protecting
05:18and compensating them. I wish that someone had made a film about child
05:23stardom that I could have watched before I entered the industry to really kind of
05:28suss out if that was something that I wanted to do or not.
05:36I don't have any regrets. Sometimes I can dwell on the past but every experience
05:45that I've had including the good, the bad, and the ugly they've all turned me into
05:49the person that I am today. And ultimately I'm just grateful for the
05:53experiences that I've had in my life.
05:57So this doesn't act as a manual for parents that are getting their children
06:03into the entertainment industry but it can be insightful for them. And there's
06:07also a lot of work to be done in the space of protecting and compensating
06:13child actors.
06:19What is next for me? I am in the studio making new music and I am writing a ton
06:27and recording and having fun with that. This stage of my life I'm complete. What
06:34makes me feel complete is I'm happy in my career making music, making this
06:39documentary, but I'm also fostering really meaningful connections in my life
06:45whether that's with my family, my fiance, my friends. I'm putting my well-being
06:55first and that in turn looks like completion. I feel like I'm in a really
07:03great place in my life and I couldn't be happier.