Fox News Flash top entertainment headlines for March 17
Fox News Flash top entertainment and celebrity headlines are here. Check out what's clicking today in entertainment.
Demi Lovato has revealed her near-fatal 2018 overdose left her legally blind.
In an upcoming documentary "Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil," which premiered Tuesday at SXSW, the 28-year-old singer gets candid like never before about her battle with addiction, her sexual identity and what happened during the night she overdosed in July 2018 and was rushed to the hospital.
In a new interview with the New York Times ahead of the four-part YouTube documentary's official release on March 23, Lovato says she woke up in the intensive care unit with damage to her eyesight.
"It was interesting how fast I adapted," she told the outlet. "I didn’t leave myself time to really feel sad about it. I just was like, how do I fix it?"
DEMI LOVATO SAYS SHE WAS SEXUALLY ASSAULTED BY HER DRUG DEALER THE NIGHT SHE OVERDOSED
Lovato revealed in her June 2018 single, "Sober," that she had relapsed after six years of sobriety. She was hospitalized in July for overdosing on an unconfirmed drug just days before she was set to begin a string of live performances. (AP)
Waking up legally blind meant Lovato struggled to do everyday activities, such as reading a book. The outlet notes that she "passed the time catching up on 10' years worth of sleep, playing board games or taking a single lap around the hospital floor for exercise."
She was left with blind spots and looked at her phone using her peripheral vision. She also used voice notes to type, the report details.
According to the Times, Lovato suffered "three strokes, a heart attack and organ failure" as a result of the overdose. The strokes caused brain damage.
Because of the damage to her eyesight, Lovato can no longer drive. The outlet notes that she describes one of the symptoms as "resembling sunspots."
Singer Demi Lovato details details of her July 2018 overdose in the upcoming YouTube documentary 'Dancing with the Devil.' (Reuters)
Since surviving the overdose, Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande's manager, Scooter Braun, signed Lovato onto his team. His goal, he told the outlet, is for the troubled songstress to "live a happy life."
In the last year, Lovato also became engaged to her ex Max Ehrich during quarantine. The engagement lasted a few months, with the stars calling it quits in September.
"This last year provided me so much self-growth and was so beneficial to my spiritual evolution," Lovato reflected.
Also detailed in the documentary is the frightening night she was transported to the hospital in July 2018. During that night, she reveals she was sexually assaulted by her drug dealer.
DEMI LOVATO CELEBRATES HER CHANGING BODY AFTER ACCIDENTAL WEIGHTLOSS: 'I DON'T COUNT CALORIES'
The "Anyone" singer says that when she woke up in a hospital, medical professionals asked her whether she'd had consensual sex.
Demi Lovato announced her engagement to Max Ehrich last summer. The two called it quits in September. (Getty Images)
"There was one flash that I had of him on top of me. I saw that flash and I said 'Yes,'" the pop star said. "It wasn't until a month after the overdose that I realized, 'You weren't in any state of mind to make a consensual decision.'"
According to the star's friend Sirah Mitchell, Lovato was given heroin "laced with fentanyl" that July evening, and the dealer "ended up getting her really high and leaving her for dead."
"When they found me, I was naked, blue. I was literally left for dead after he took advantage of me," Lovato claims.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
Unfortunately, the alleged encounter with the drug dealer wasn't Lovato's first non-consensual sexual incident, she says.
"When I was a teenager, I was in a very similar situation," she reveals in the docuseries. "I lost my virginity in a rape."
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
"Both times were textbook trauma re-enactments, and I really beat myself up for years which is why I had a really hard time coming to terms with the fact it was a rape when it happened," Lovato says.
If you or someone you know is suffering from abuse, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
Fox News' Nate Day contributed to this report.
Trending
Who's making headlines in television, music, movies and more from Hollywood to the Heartland.