Demi Lovato Documentary Sequel on Hold at YouTube as the Singer Recovers
Following the tremendous success of last fall’s YouTube original documentary “Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated,” the streaming service immediately put a second Lovato doc into production. But YouTube Global Head of originals Susanne Daniels told IndieWire on Friday that the production has been put on pause following Lovato’s recent emergency and recovery.
“It’s in production,” said Daniels, but “it’s on hold right now. That’s up to Demi what she wants to say and what she wants to do.”
Daniels called Lovato “my hero. She’s someone who has been honest, so candid about her struggles, from day one when she was a teenager. And they’re real struggles, and they’re multiple struggles. And she’s trying so hard and I think the outpouring of sympathy for her is a reflection of how she has shared her battles so publicly and so honestly. She talked about them in the first documentary. So I think we’re on pause, we want her to get well, and she’ll decide what she wants to say or not say about this.”
“Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated” was released on Oct. 17 and chronicled the creation of her album “Tell Me You Love Me,” but also dived into a frank discussion of Lovato’s personal battles. Hannah Lux Davis directed the doc, which was just under 90 minutes, and currently and has nearly 20 million views.
The second doc is “like the first one. It’s a continuation of it,” Daniels said. “The first doc went over so well, with her fans and did so well in front of and behind the paywall, that there was a clamoring for more Demi. So we said, ‘OK, let’s do more Demi.’ And she was game. So it follows her life really for the past year. And like the first one, she honestly talks about her struggles a lot, in the second one too.”
The second Lovato documentary was originally slated to premiere in the fourth quarter of 2018 on YouTube, but will now be pushed, perhaps to early 2019.
Lovato was rushed to the hospital on Tuesday after what was widely reported as an overdose. A statement released to press later said that “Demi is awake and with her family, who want to express thanks to everyone for the love, prayers and support. Some of the information being reported is incorrect and they respectfully ask for privacy and not speculation as her health and recovery is the most important thing right now.”
Here is YouTube’s original doc “Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated”:
Related stories
Bobby Brown Pulls a Trumpian 'Fake News' Claim and Denies 911 Domestic Violence Call Ever Happened
Discovery Is Gunning to Compete With Netflix By Being King of Unscripted TV
