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Demi Lovato says they’re no longer ‘California sober’

The singer says "sober sober" only works for them now

By Charlotte Krol

Demi Lovato is seen performing on a piano in 2018
Demi Lovato. (Picture: Wikimedia commons/marcen27)

Demi Lovato has revealed that they are no longer ‘California sober’ because “sober sober” is the only approach that works for them.

Lovato, who earlier this year announced that they use they/them pronouns, said the lifestyle choice no longer suits their needs. “California sober” has a range of loose definitions, from people smoking cannabis and drinking alcohol in moderation, to people only smoking and not drinking at all.

The singer first spoke about being “California sober” in their 2021 docuseries ‘Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil’. “Telling myself that I can never have a drink or smoke marijuana, I feel like that’s setting myself up for failure because I am such a black and white thinker,” they said, in light of their near-fatal overdose in 2018.

However, the pop star confirmed that they are no longer practising that. They wrote on their Instagram Stories this week: “I no longer support my ‘California sober’ ways. Sober sober is the only way to be.”

Lovato defended their original decision to go “California sober” while speaking on The Zach Sang Show earlier this year.

“It’s not saying that this works for everybody, but it’s saying that that other solution isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution and there’s options,” Lovato said.

“I didn’t make up this term (California sober), right? I just heard it, and was like, ‘Oh, that sounds green and applies to me.’ But I think that different people have different meanings for it. So, it might be moderation to some people, it might be only natural things to some people.”

Meanwhile, last month the singer announced a new partnership with the alternative streaming site Gaia, with them receiving backlash for the platform’s history of sharing conspiracy videos.

“Thrilled to be a @wearegaia ambassador,” Lovato wrote on social media, along with a photo in which they posed with a phone running the app. “Understanding the world around us (the known and the unknown) is so exciting to me! Check out my stories to learn more!”

The site, which began with videos on yoga, meditation and fringe science, has recently drawn attention for its hosting of many unproven conspiracy theories. A report last year by The Daily Dot described Gaia as “a hub for QAnon influencers”.

The site also hosted content by renowned conspiracy theorist David Icke last year, a month after both YouTube and Facebook deleted his pages off their platforms.