Demi Lovato ‘left for dead’ after being sexually assaulted by heroin dealer before 2018 overdose

Singer also revealed she became addicted to heroin and crack cocaine ahead of overdosing

Demi Lovato was “left for dead” after being sexually assaulted by her heroin dealer in 2018, the singer has revealed.

Lovato detailed her journey back to sobriety in a new YouTube documentary series, Dancing with the Devil, which premieres at the virtual SXSW Festival this week.

In it, the “Skyscraper” singer revealed that she had celebrated six years of being sober when she fell off the wagon in April 2018, and overdosed shortly after.

“What people don’t realise about that night for me is that I didn’t just overdose, I also was taken advantage of,” she recalls in the series. “When they found me, I was naked. I was blue. I was literally left for dead after he took advantage of me.”

Lovato also reveals in the series that she became addicted to meth, heroin and crack cocaine in the weeks before her overdose, which left her with permanent brain damage. The night she broke her sobriety saw her immediately buy hard drugs.

“I’m surprised I didn’t OD that night,” she remembers. “I just went to town. I went on a shopping spree. That night I did drugs I’d never done before. I’d never done meth before, I tried meth. I mixed it with [ecstasy], with coke, weed, alcohol, oxycontin. And that alone should have killed me.”

Read more: Demi Lovato reveals she was ‘minutes from death’ after 2018 overdose

Two weeks later, she added, she was “introduced to heroin and crack cocaine”.

Demi Lovato in 2018 (Getty)

Lovato suffered three strokes and a heart attack during her overdose, and almost three years later is still experiencing blind spots in her vision and brain impairment.

Earlier this month, Lovato revealed that a broken engagement to actor Max Ehrich helped her realise “how queer [she] really [is]”.

Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil begins on 23 March on YouTube.

If you or someone you know if suffering from drug addiction, you can seek confidential help and support 24-7 from Frank, by calling 0300 123 6600, texting 82111, or visiting their website