A distant Demi Lovato stands on the sidelines while her friends loudly celebrate in a video that was taken shortly before she overdosed on a still unknown substance Tuesday morning.
The 10-second video was one of many posted to Instagram on Monday night and early Tuesday by Lovato’s friend Janelle Hanson, as she and others from Lovato’s crew celebrated the birthday of dancer Dani Vitale, who has been on tour with the singer for the past six months.
Dancers Jackie Lloyd and Scott Myrick, who have also been on tour with Lovato, were at the birthday party as well, with videos showing guests riding the mechanical bull at Saddle Ranch in West Hollywood and singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Vitale.
Those videos were all quickly deleted from Instagram on Tuesday, shortly after Lovato suffered an overdose.
None of those present at the party have commented on the overdose, but Vitale did like a tweet that read: ‘Stop bein so judgmental on the lives of people you don’t know and focus on fixing your own s***.’
She also liked a ‘praying for demi’ tweet.
Video: Demi Lovato was out at Saddle Ranch in West Hollywood on Monday night to celebrate the birthday of Dani Vitale (Lovato above in video from Monday)
Kiss, kiss: A video posted by her friend Janelle Hanson shows the pop star standing quietly in the background while her friends are more cheerful and animated (Vitale and Lovato in June)
Crew: Other videos, which have since been deleted, show guests riding the mechanical bull and singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Vitale (l to r: Vitale, Lovato’s manager Lauren and Lovato’s assistant Kelsey)
DailyMail.com was able to see a number of these videos before they were taken down from the social media site, including one where Vitale was presented with her birthday cake.
In that clip, Myrick and Vitale are seen sitting next to one another with no one else visible in the frame.
Vitale is excitedly shouting and cheering after blowing out the candles of a ‘2’ and an ‘8’ on her birthday cake, when a female voice is suddenly heard off camera.
‘Oh dope, I got it right after the candles blew out,’ slurs the unidentified woman.
Then, during some talk of how cold the frosting is and the revelation that the cake was kept in a refrigerator, the camera pans to show Demi standing behind the group.
She is wearing a green jacket and has newly dyed blonde hair, and looks to be applying lipstick before turning and sharing a private comment with Myrick.
That is where the video ends, and Lovato was not clearly seen in any other photos or videos posted – and then deleted – by her friends that evening.
DailyMail.com spoke with three individuals who were at the bar on Monday who said that while they did not see Lovato drinking, they did hear the group throughout the night.
‘There was a lot of shouting and it sounded like they were having a good time at first, but a few people seemed to have a few too many shots,’ one of those individuals told DailyMail.com.
Another said that there was loud cheering any time food or drinks were brought to the group, and noted that Vitale mentioned she had previously worked at the restaurant.
Those three said the party was sill going when they left, and noted that they were unaware Lovato was even with the group until the end of the night because she was so quiet.
‘She was far more low-key than the others, at last from what we saw,’ said the first source.
What remains a mystery is what happened next, and after days of conflicting reports from a multitude of outlets, what is certain is that Lovato left the Saddle Ranch around closing time and was found unconscious in her bed just before noon.
That is based on emergency dispatch records, which reveal that a female called 911 to report that Lovato was not responsive at around 11.30am in audio obtained by DailyMail.com.
Hollywood police officers are seen outside Demi Lovato’s home on Friday
Lovato left the Saddle Ranch around closing time and was found unconscious in her bed just before noon. Cops are pictured at her home Friday
That woman then instructed emergency workers to not use the sirens if possible as they rushed to the home, arriving in approximately four minutes and rushing to treat Lovato with Narcan.
Lovato was eventually taken to Cedars Sinai to recover, where her sister Madison and manager Lauren were among those spotted heading into her $8 million home while she was being treated in the hospital.
The star had previously admitted to relapsing in June, and two days before her overdose forgot the words to her hit song Sober while performing at the California Mid-State Fair.
‘Demi is awake and with her family who want to express thanks to everyone for the love, prayers, and support,’ her rep told DailyMail.com on Wednesday.
‘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.’
Lovato will now have a few months to focus on her recovery before going back on the road, should she chose to continue with the international leg of her Tell me |You Love Me Tour.
Demi got candid about her drug struggles in the YouTube documentary Simply Complicated, which was released last year.
In that documentary Lovato said that she tried cocaine at 17, right around the time she was shooting to fame on the Disney show Sonny With A Chance.
‘I loved it. I felt out of control with the coke the first time that I did it,’ explained Lovato.
She also spoke about how addiction ran in her family, and her mother’s attempts to keep her daughter away from drugs.
‘My dad was an addict and an alcoholic,’ explained Lovato. ‘I guess I always searched for what he found in drugs and alcohol because it fulfilled him and he chose that over a family.’
Demi Lovato is pictured smiling while horseriding with a pal shortly before her overdose
It was while on tour with the Jonas Brothers that Lovato said her problem got out of control, resulting in one period where she used drugs ever day for two months.
At 18, she checked into rehab for the first time.
She said she felt great after leaving rehab, but soon found herself relapsing on drugs.
‘I wasn’t working my program. I wasn’t ready to get sober. I was sneaking it on planes, sneaking it in bathrooms, sneaking it throughout the night,’ said Lovato.
‘Nobody knew.’
She even gave interviews about her new sober lifestyle while high on drugs she said.
‘I was using while I had a sober companion, and I went through like 20 sober companions. I was either craving drugs or on drugs,’ explained Lovato.
‘I was not easy to work with. It’s embarrassing to look back at the person I was.’
One night, she mixed cocaine and Xanax she said, in what was almost a fatal mistake.
‘I started to choke a little bit, and my heart started racing. I remember thinking, “Oh my God, I might be overdosing right now,”‘ said Lovato.
Her low point came in 2012 when she partied all night with strangers in a hotel and threw up on the way to her American Idol appearance.
That is when her management team informed her that if she did not get sober they would no longer keep her as a client.
For the next six years Lovato stayed clean as her career thrived, though she admitted to dealing with other problems like an ongoing eating disorder.
That came back in a big way in 2016, she said, after her split from Wilmer Valderama, with the singer saying that being alone triggers the disorder.
‘When I was in a relationship with Wilmer I went three years without purging, and when we broke up, that’s one of the first things I did,’ said Lovato.
‘The less I have to think about food, the easier it is to go about having a normal life, and I don’t want to let anybody down, so when I do have moments when I slip up, I feel very ashamed.
‘What started the relapse was missing Wilmer. When I feel lonely my heart feels hungry and I end up binging.’
She also hints in her song Sober that she recently relapsed, and has been candid about her struggles with mental health as well over the years.
‘The last decade has taught me a lifetime of lessons,’ said Lovato towards the end of the documentary.
‘I’ve learned that secrets make you sick. I’m learning how to be a voice and not a victim. I’ve learned sex is natural. I’ve learned that love is necessary, heartbreak is unavoidable and loneliness is brutal.
‘I’ve learned that the key to being happy is to tell your truth and be OK without all the answers.’