Demi Lovato Coming Out as Non-Binary Is Latest Bold Move In Their Career Reclamation The increasingly candid pop star and recovering addict shared that they now identify as they/them.
By Kenny Herzog
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Anyone who watched Demi Lovato's recent YouTube docuseries, Dancing With the Devil, knows the 28-year-old singer and actor has indeed been through hell and lived to tell. And in the nearly three years since a tramautic drug overdose that left them partially blind, Lovato has made a concerted effort to reclaim their life and career and refract it through a lens of self-possession and discovery.
It hasn't always been without missteps (see: last month's yogurt-shop fiasco), and it can be incredibly awkward to witness their rehabilitation in real-time across everything from a myriad social-media platforms (which tally just shy of 160 million combined followers between Twitter and Instagram alone) to their new weekly podcast, 4D With Demi Lovato. But it is remarkable to watch the child star-turned-advocate — who has overcome eating disorders, addiction and abuse — lay themself bare in a way that's inextricable from how they've resurrected their business.
To that end, Lovato announced today that they identify as gender non-binary and will be changing their pronouns to they/them. "This has come after a lot of healing & self-reflective work," their tweet explained. "I'm still learning & coming into myself, & I don't claim to be an expert or a spokesperson. Sharing this with you now opens another level of vulnerability for me."
Their declaration comes two weeks after the premiere of 4D and is effectively an enticement to download episode two, which dropped this morning and features Lovato discussing gender identity and exploration with non-conforming artist Alok.
And since we just linked to the podcast ourselves and will be subsequently sharing this story with our millions of social-media followers, Lovato's intention to motivate a virtuous cycle of provocative dialogue and dynamic entrepreneurialism has clearly won the day.
No word on whether any froyo brands plan on advertising on 4D.
Related: How I Connect With Influencers Like Demi Lovato and Pharrell Williams -- And How You Can, Too
