The “emotional and physical issues” that led Disney star Demi Lovato to seek treatment were exacerbated by the teenager’s heavy drinking and drug use, a source told Life & Style magazine Wednesday.
The 18-year-old actress and singer checked into a Chicago area rehab center on November 1 to seek treatment for “emotional and physical issues” that have plagued her much of her life, her parents said in a statement.
But on Wednesday the celebrity magazine quoted sources who described Lovato as a drug user and heavy drinker.
At a party in December 2009 in a Dallas, Tex., suburb one guests claimed he saw Lovato doing cocaine.
“She was doing line after line like a pro — and she was 17 at the time,” fellow partygoer Brian Payne said.
“I just remember her doing it as if she had been doing it for a long time. It didn’t seem like something new to her,” college student Payne added about the behavior of the “Sonny With a Chance” star.
Another source said Lovato’s recent break-up with musician Joe Jonas pushed her over the edge.
“Demi’s been on a tear lately,” said a source. “She’ll chug booze straight from the bottle.”
But a friend of the family denied that Lovato struggles with substance abuse.
The Texas native “decided to seek medical care for her physical and emotional issues,” a source told People magazine, “she is not in drug rehab.”