Demi Lovato's "Child Star" and the Price of Early Fame

The Unseen Challenges of Child Celebrities

Inspired by our recent post about being concerned for Jojo Siwa, we decided to deep dive into Demi Lovato’s “Child Star” on Hulu to learn more about this very specific journey.

In the doc, Demi sets out to explore her complicated emotions about being a child star; the duality of living your dream while also being deeply unhappy. Woven throughout the film, Demi candidly shares about her rise as a child star, being bullied at school, her eating disorder, and addiction and mental health struggles.

The gift that Demi gives us is that she’s been so candid about her journey every step of the way, and she’s been a strong mental health advocate. “Child Star” is her directorial debut, tackling a topic personal to her because really wants to understand the unique pressure of being a child star and how some stars fare better than others.

In her conversations with Drew Barrymore, Christina Ricci, Kenan Thompson, JoJo Siwa, Alyson Stoner, Raven-Symone we find common threads in their rise, and their messy transitions into adulthood.

• Confusing yourself and your brand

• Being the family breadwinner but not feeling in control

• Disassociating

• Trying to numb the chaos

• Using disordered eating to gain control