Demi Lovato recently opened up about being a role model for young girls.
Lovato, who made her way to fame on Disney Channel’s Sonny with a Chance, struggled with physical and emotional issues as a child actress, and never thought of herself as a role model for anyone.
In October 2010, Lovato entered a rehab facility, where she quickly realized that her every move was in the public eye and she needed to be an inspiration for those looking up to her instead of the other way around.
“When I was in treatment, I honestly thought my career was over,” she said during a November 2013 interview with Entertainment Weekly. “But when I came out of treatment, I had more supportive fans than ever. There are lots of artists who aren’t honest – they put on a face. Nobody can relate to that face.”
She added, “Growing up, I needed someone in the public eye to look up to. At the time, it was starlets clubbing and getting really, really thin. That’s what I thought was cool and glamorous. But now I want to inspire that young girl who thinks she’s overweight, or too thin, or not pretty enough.”
It’s been a busy year! See how every day, I continue to push myself to follow my dreams. #ACUVUE1DAY http://t.co/sXAxhLTAtV
— Demi Lovato (@ddlovato) November 7, 2014
Now, four years later, Demi has matured and is embracing her role as a role model.
“I really embraced the whole role model thing, because when I was younger I realized that shying away from it and denying that I was gonna be a role model, denying it only made me resent the fact that people were putting like, boundaries on me of things I can and cannot do and I think that’s why a lot of people shy from it, rightfully so,” Demi told Access Hollywood , during a recent interview on the set of her photoshoot with the Tampax and Always Radiant Collection.
“People sometimes just want to live their lives. At that moment, I knew I was doing a lot of things that weren’t right and weren’t role model like until the day that I saw everything in the bigger picture where my voice – if you live your whole career just singing and just taking pictures and just living in front of everyone, if you don’t use your voice for good, it’s actually a very vain career, [a] narcissistic career, so I want to use my voice for good and I know that I can do a lot other than singing,” she continued. “And that’s what I want to do. That’s what I want to show people.”