Demi Lovato's Story 'Weighs On You,' Docuseries Director Michael D. Ratner Reveals

By Rob LeDonne


Trigger warning: This interview discusses sexual assault and drug addiction.


Any time Demi Lovato approached director Michael D. Ratner about a docuseries on her life, the singer was clear: the aim was to be as sincere as possible. The result is Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil, a warts-and-all four-part look at the tumultuous, complex personalized life of the actress and pop superstar. Going behind the clickbait headlines and preconceived notions about Lovato’s troubles, Dancing with the Devil paints a straightforward, human portrait of the heart-wrenching reality of addiction and covers in excruciating detail the death of her father, her near-fatal 2018 overdose, and instances of sexual assault and rape. It’s a unflinching look at family member and friendship, love and heartbreak, setbacks and perseverance.


From the Glendale, California, set of the eponymous “Dancing with the Devil” music video (timed to drop in tandem with the docuseries), Ratner talked to MTV News over the phone about how he tackled the delicate subject matter, the project’s stunning revelations, and the significance of portraying Demi’s truth, including the fact she’s no longer fully sober. “We’re not tying anything up in a neat bow, whether looking back or forward,” Ratner says. “We talk about the complexity of humanity in people and humans, whether you are a musician or you and me. This is really a human documentary told in the world of music.”


MTV News: You’re the mastermind in back of a length of celebrity docuseries, whether lighthearted (Kevin Hart’s Cold as Balls) or deep (Justin Bieber: Seasons). How did you and Demi Lovato start your collaboration?


Ratner: I previously directed her in a show called Pretty Big Deal that Ashley Graham hosts. Demi discussed a little about her story in that, and I was like, man, there’s a lot more there. There’s a deep, prosperous possibility for her to decorative. Then I directed the Justin Bieber docuseries Seasons, where he got candid about his own life. She saw that, and we sat down to talk about how she wanted to tell her own story. She had done a documentary before [2017’s Simply Complicated] and was actually working on a follow-up to that in 2018 while in the Tell Me You Love Me tour, nevertheless production stopped if she overdosed. I think the other documentaries were her attempting to tell her truth, however she didn’t go all of the way there. We agreed to do the project Once I realized she wasn’t focused on just building a commercial. She was finally ready on her own terms to tell the real story, and I was thrilled.


MTV News: Dancing with the Devil opens discussing Demi’s late father, who struggled with both mental illness and addiction. Was that habitually the plan, or did the progression of the story present itself as you were working on it?


Ratner: My plans are usually loose, however I follow a story. I had a game plan going into it that came from multiple off-camera conversations, because in case you go in and have no idea what you're doing, you’re in for a disaster. Yet [the story of Demi’s father] was one of these key things also it really made sense to start there.


there really are people who jump to conclusions about Demi or didn’t know about that aspect of her. I think it was an enormous piece and one of several factors that led her down the path that she went. One thing for certain is that we’re making no conclusions any time it comes to summing it up. We left no detail spared once talking about her father and the profound impact it had on her, even some of the adjectives she uses describing death, the memories of that, and the feelings it evokes. It all really set the stage.


MTV News: This series is truly raw, whether recounting her sexual assault or going by way of the moment she overdosed in extreme detail, how she had three strokes plus a heart attack. What’s it like for you filmmaker as well as a person converse with Demi and the people closest to her, including her friend and relative, about some of the darkest moments of their lives?


Ratner: One of the hardest conversations was talking to her mother and stepfather about nearly losing their daughter. That’s not the kind of conversation you could have and then go about your day and meet up with some companions for dinner. It sticks with you and weighs on you. I’ve been living in this world and you also learn the specifics and understand them so deeply, and I think that is what supports the shape a narrative. You have to be the ultimate listeners so that whenever folks are distributing the darkest moments of their lives, they’re in that safe space.


You do have these moments where it feels like you have to respect the restrictions of making sure somebody is OK. At the same time, any time while you know their north star objective of what they’re attempting to carry out with the project is truth, there really are some uncomfortable conversations you have got have in a task to be able to see through their vision. So, it’s a honor that they invite me to learn, listen, and share.


MTV News: There was still a lot going on in Demi’s life once you were making the documentary. I’m thinking specifically about her short-lived engagement. You were doing interviews that were completely obsolete by the time you finished. What’s it like for you as a filmmaker once the subject you’re documenting is constantly changing?


Ratner: As soon as I was making this, I got a telephone call that she had a boyfriend, I got a phone call that she had a fiancé, and then I got a telephone call that they called off the engagement. As is life, right? So there’s that first moment of, “Oh, wow,” whenever you have got to pivot or rethink things. The other moment is that you realize this is real, things change, and also you cannot control everything. It’s actually very to the point.


We’re also building a documentary about a 27-, 28-year-old, which are prime growth years. The second you stop rolling, more growth is going to happen. I habitually joke with Demi: in the event you sign up to direct a Demi Lovato project, you better keep the camera rolling. I think one of the hardest things to do once creating a documentary about someone in their prime is figuring out where it ends. There’s actually no real ending.


MTV News: The series serves as an education for people who don’t know what it’s like to have someone they love experience addiction. As an example, you talk with Demi about how “People can understand picking up a joint, however what people don’t understand is picking up the harder drugs.” Everything is also presented in a very clinical way, even while you talked to a neurologist. Why did you determine to display showcase the story like this? 


Ratner: I think the objective here's to motivate dialogue and remove the stigma of talking about these subject matters. It was also especially key to understand the power and reach this docuseries can have. She has 100 million followers on Instagram alone, so a lot of folks are going to be able to see this. Addiction is a dangerous infection, and it’s vital that we show you that no two journeys are alike. While we are not preaching that there’s any one-size-fits-all solution, what we wanted to do is get people talking and state loud and clear that it’s OK not to be OK and also you must seek help in case you could. We distribute some resources at the end of every episode for you to do that. The worst thing you could do is keep it in your head and feel that isolation, feel like you can't speak about it or think that nobody else goes through it.


MTV News: One moment I was particularly surprised by was as soon as it’s revealed Demi is no longer sober. Can you converse with me about that revelation?


Ratner: Demi isn’t the poster child for anything, and we weren’t attempting to mention she is. It was vital that we tell people that your route isn’t like Demi’s and the way to get help is to speak to people. It was quite essential that we have all voices in this piece, and I think one of the most powerful moments is as soon as we have Elton John fully, matter-of-factly, candidly, and concisely disagreeing with Demi’s stated point of view. He says, “Moderation does not work, sorry.”


This is a wildly complex allocate. We are not telling anybody how to live their lives, and it’s key that, given a history of being put on a pedestal for so several years, that there’s no aha moment for Demi. She can let herself and other people down. She’s loudly and clearly saying she knows her struggles and is working on them day-to-day. She’s doing everything she can in her power to be her best self.


MTV News: Were you hesitant to keep that in? You do have Elton counteracting it, however was there ever a thought that maybe it would send the incorrect message or put her on blast?


Ratner: I think that it was more how we include it versus do we include it. We required to be very clear that this was not telling anybody else to follow suit. Ultimately, Demi’s vision for this is that she wanted to have people know the real her at the end of it. I think we would have been setting her up for failure if that was omitted. If we left the impression she was fully sober, it wouldn’t have been the truth. There’s no universal solution, and Demi is new to exploring this and she’s taking it day by day and working on herself constantly so she doesn’t just be back in the same place she was. She’s also saying that this is what’s working for her today.


MTV News: Another thing I think that admission resembles, especially immediately after how heart-wrenching everything came before it was, that as a viewer you think, “She’s done drinking and doing illegal narcotics forever.” Yet the nature of addiction is that things are never so clear. 


Ratner: In the documentary there’s a line by [Lovato’s recovery case manager] Charles Cook, and he says, “How could you do this, how could you do this again?!” He talks about the hurt. If you’re watching this and you also don’t know much about addiction you’d definitely think, “OK, there’s no way she’d use again.” Although it’s infection and also a challenging one. It’s very crucial to talk about the lack of a brilliant path, and towards recovery in this specific instance.


MTV News: Demi is so candid in the documentary, yet I’m wondering if there’s anything at all you left on the cutting room floor that maybe went also far or revealed also much? 


Ratner: There was not, which is pretty fascinating and almost inconceivable. Some of the stuff that made her feel uncomfortable or maybe gave her a physical reaction once we were watching it with each other, she left in. She thought that ultimately it was crucial for a full catharsis. I had a pretty good understanding of what she wanted to tell. Any time we were filming, she never once mentioned, “Oh, I don’t want that in it.”