Last night, the “Do Something” Awards were held in LA, and the biggest “gets” of the evening were Kim Kardashian, Demi Lovato, Jane Lynch, and Justin Bieber (The Bieb didn’t even walk the carpet). So… no offense to Jane, but the event wasn’t really A-list or anything. Still, we do have some interesting photos of Demi and Kim posing together on the carpet. Now, go ahead and yell at me because I’ve never thought Demi was a really “fresh, pretty” looking girl. But doesn’t she look amazing when she stands next to Kim Kardashian? Maybe that’s the new thing – “How great do you look standing next to a Kardashian?” Because Demi looks gorgeous, fresh, natural, beautiful and adorable next to Kim’s kat-face.

As for the actual fashion happening here… is it wrong that I like both of their dresses? Kim made a rare fashion hit with this long gown in an off-white, with a metallic belt, designer unknown. My only complaints about Kim’s look are the shoulder pads (dated, unnecessary) and the fact that she’s too dressy for this kind of event. As for Demi – some sites are talking about how her boobs are on display, but I think she looks really pretty and healthy. I do hope she’s doing alright, because she looks great. Is it a bad sign that she’s hanging with Kim Kardashian? Probably. But that’s an issue for another time.

PS… I included some closeups of Kim’s face just to emphasize the point that her face is officially a tragedy. She’s ridiculous.

Photos courtesy of Fame & WENN.

Despite the tabloid rumors that Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber are totally OVER, they were both at the Teen Choice Awards last night, and were reportedly loved up, like always. However, The Bieb and Selena did not pose together on the blue carpet – Selena saved that honor for her BFF Demi Lovato. Dear God, I’ve never noticed how much these two girls look alike. They could be sisters! And even though I have some not-so-generous thoughts about both of them, I’m buying that their friendship is genuine. They truly look giddy and sweet together, and I wish them well.

As for the fashion – both chose short cocktail dress with mullet-like trains. Both dresses look kind of budget, in my opinion, but I think Demi looks better in general. Demi is wearing BCBG – it fits and it flatters, mostly. The mullet part is kind of fug, but it’s occasion appropriate and she looks healthy. As for Selena – she wore Erin Fetherston. Doesn’t this look tacky and budget? It looks like a pageant evening gown that Selena repurposed, chopped up and threw on. She looks like a 15-year-old going to her junior prom in a borrowed dress. Bad, bad, bad. Oh, and I guess Selena’s doesn’t really have a mullet, it’s more like a…? I don’t even know. I do like their styling, though. Both of them have decent hair and makeup.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Last time we spoke of Demi Lovato (it was yesterday, actually), it was in terms of her hopeful avoidance of the cracked-out Disney starlet example of one Lindsay Lohan. Now, Demi has stepped out in Los Angeles with a clearly visible cell phone sticker that reads, “Heroin Killed The Radio Star.” While it’s easy to draw a temporal connection between Demi’s sticker and Amy Winehouse’s untimely death, E! Online is quick on the draw with a more rational explanation:

Did Demi Lovato have an ulterior motive in mind when she affixed a sticker with an antidrug slogan to her cell phone?

Virtual fingers were pointing all over the Internet after the singer was spotted toting the message “Heroin killed the radio star” on her mobile.

What did it mean?! Was it a nod at Amy Winehouse’s recent passing? Or were people just peeved that “Video Killed the Radio Star” had been repurposed without their consent?

It’s just a reminder of the danger of drugs, people!

A source close to Lovato confirms to E! News that Lovato’s sticker is merchandise from a brand founded by a friend of hers called Sober Is Sexy, and that a portion from every sale is donated to a substance-abuse organization.

Sure enough, the Soberissexy.com home page features a girl wearing a T-shirt with the slogan “Heroin Killed the Radio Star.” Also for sale are shirts with the slogans “The Only Coke I Do Is Diet” and “Don’t Die.”

Incidentally, there are also tees with Amy Winehouse’s image and one of the perennially in trouble Pete Doherty, a design the brand has labeled “God Save the Pete.”

[From E! Online]

While some people would be quick to point out, in light of Lovato’s alleged (and completely undocumented) history of substance abuse, the public relations advantage of an anti-drug stance, I’d also like to return to the convenient comparison point of Lindsay Lohan. Aside from the obvious denouncement from Lovato concerning the (dubious) magic of public relations, there has never been any statement from the Lohan camp that drugs are bad. Instead, it’s only been a case of blanket denials that Lindsay has ever used drugs. In contrast, there’s a more lucid awareness on the part of Lovato that drugs are definitely nothing but trouble, and Demi clearly wishes to communicate this to her fans. So …. is she being truthful? Yes, I think so.

Photos courtesy of Fame

Demi Lovato did a fashion spread and interview in the September issue of Elle (the one with Gwyneth on the cover) to promote her new “Skyscraper” single as well as discuss some issues about bullying and cutting, which she’s already talked about in the recent past. While Elle‘s stylists have gotten a bit heavy handed with the lipstick in this photoshoot, I do love that red coat in the above photo. In addition, the interview contains a few little gems, which allude to an almost unheard of concept to today’s starlets; that is, personal responsibility:

On Her 2010 Meltdown: When news of her backstage theatrics on tour with the Jonas Brothers got out, the blogosphere dubbed her “Demi Drama.” “I was completely out of line all summer,” she says. “Just the worst attitude–totally ungrateful.” During a flight to Peru, Lovato walked up to her backup dancer, then friend Alex Welch, and socked her in the face. “I just felt like she’d betrayed me,” Lovato says. “That’s the bottom line.”

On Her Moment Of Reckoning: “When you punch someone on a plane, enough is enough,” she ways. “Right after, I texted my mom and just said, ‘I’m sorry.’”

On Why She Lost It: Because she and [Joe] Jonas had broken up, rumors persisted that Lovato went off the rails over his then romance with Twilight star Ashley Greene. She admits that heartbreak was an aggravating factor — she and Jonas have had no contact since — but insists the crisis ran deeper than teen angst. “I wouldn’t credit my meltdown to a guy. There was so much other stuff in my life.”

On Publicists: In 2008, red-carpet photos showed four fading scabs on Lovato’s left wrist. Before the singer even knew the pictures existed, her PR team had issued a statement that the marks were indents from gummy bracelets. “I don’t think I would have been ready to talk about [my problems] then, but I could’ve come up with something better than gummy bracelets. Needless to say, that publicist is no longer with us.” Pause. “I mean, she’s alive.”

[From Elle]

While the tabloids would lead us to believe that Demi is falling back into her partying ways, I think she’s far from the next Lindsay Lohan. The difference between the two girls is quite apparent in that Demi has publicly acknowledged that punching her backup dancer was out of line and completely wrong on her part. In contrast, Lohan would’ve claimed that she didn’t really punch anyone because the paparazzi (on on airplane) would’ve pushed her, thereby causing the loss of balance and an uncontrollably flailing wrist. Then, she’d have sued the backup dancer for not catching her or something. While every screw up in Lohan’s life is the fault of someone else, Demi seems far more lucid about her own shortcomings, and seeing the whole picture is a huge factor in recovery. If only we could just keep Demi from dating creeps like Wilmer Valderrama and Ryan Phillipe, right?

Elle photos courtesy of The Fashion Spot.

Over the past year or so, Demi Lovato has had a rough go of things to put it mildly. After experiencing a nervous breakdown, she pulled off a rehab stint (and now her mom’s in rehab too) and has since been very candid in discussing her eating disorders as well as her cutting. Certainly, Demi made it clear that her rehabilitation would be an ongoing process, but she doesn’t seem terribly aware that dating toxic womanizers can’t be good for anyone’s long-term well being. Hence her on-off relationship with Wilmer Valderrama and most, recently, the no-good, ongoing hookup with Ryan Phillipe. Now In Touch reports that Demi’s falling back into her old partying habits too:

Recently rehabbed Demi Lovato is falling back into bad habits.

Instead of seeing Lindsay Lohan as a cautionary tale, Demi Lovato may tragically follow in her footsteps. Six months after she completed rehab for depression and eating disorders, insiders worry she could be headed for another breakdown. “She’s a typical 18-year-old who wants to party and have fun,” says a source. But for someone in such a vulnerable position, this could be disastrous.

Demi has been hitting the scene hard in recent weeks. At the HTC Status Social Launch in LA on July 19, she flirted with “Glee” star Darren Criss while her friends drank nearby. Clad in a skintight black mini, Demi told In Touch, “I’m having fun!” And she was out again the next night. And though they both deny it, she’s also reportedly been dating Ryan Phillippe, who, at 36, is twice her age.

The source adds that in August she’s planning to celebrate the recent success of her No. 1 iTunes single “Skyscraper” and her 19th birthday in Las Vegas — not exactly the best place to quietly focus on recovery. Now people close to her are worried, reveals the cource. “She seems to be reverting back to her old party-girl ways.” Indeed, Demi herself admitted recently, “I’m going to mess up and I’m not going to be perfect.” But that’s turning out to be all too true, all too fast.

[From In Touch, print edition, August 8, 2011]

Well, that Vegas celebration theme certainly sounds like something Lindsay Lohan would pull, doesn’t it? In fact, that was totally her M.O. when she could still talk vodka companies into sponsoring her birthday celebrations. Fortunately, we needn’t worry about any liquor companies formally subsidizing a 19-year-old’s party, but that certainly doesn’t mean that there won’t be booze there. I do hope that Demi has learned something from Lindsay’s ruined career because that’s probably the only way of getting through to any starlet these days. They wouldn’t necessarily worry about the legal battles or the rehab as much as the prospect of becoming unemployable, but if that’s what works to keep young actors out of trouble, then so be it.

Photos courtesy of Fame

Ryan Phillippe just upped his douche factor 10 fold. Rumor has it that he’s been secretly (until now) seeing 18 year-old singer/actress Demi Lovato. Ryan, 36, is working on being the next Wilmer Valderrama, who just happens to be Demi’s ex. Except Wilmer is five years younger younger than Ryan and doesn’t have any baby drama with an ex girlfriend. According to both E! and US Weekly, Demi and Ryan have been dating for two months. The story makes it sound like they’ve fizzled out already, though.

E! News has learned exclusively that Lovato has been quietly dating Phillippe, the actor and divorced dad of three (including 2-week-old daughter Kai with ex-girlfriend Alexis Knapp), over the last couple of months.

A source says Phillippe and Lovato started seeing each other casually, but it quickly heated up, with the source revealing that things have cooled a bit since the birth of Phillippe’s daughter.

“It was really hot and heavy for a while,” says a source close to the casual couple, adding that Lovato didn’t know for sure that Phillippe was going to be a father again “until it basically happened. It kind of threw her for a loop.”

But the reason for slowing things down with the former Mr. Reese Witherspoon wasn’t all about the new baby, but also about Lovato’s baby of her own. The promotion of her new single “Skyscraper” and video, which premiered last week on E! News, has been consuming most of her attention in the last few weeks.

In other words, only time will tell if these two will eventually evolve into a full-fledged item.

Reps for the stars have not yet responded to E! News’ request for comment, though a source close to Phillippe denies that any relationship with Lovato took place and says that the actor is currently “totally single.”

[From E! Online]

US Weekly is also running this story with a source who confirms it and adds “they were just hooking up” and “it was nothing serious.” Demi is technically legal at 18, but that’s still so young. How a 36 year-old father can find anything in common with a teenage girl is beyond me. Plus Demi has admitted she’s been really troubled, and she just got out of rehab for emotional issues earlier this year. She does seem mature in interviews, but a lot of guys Ryan’s age would know not to go there. Not Ryan, though. This makes me think even less of him.

Demi Lovato is shown on 7/19/10 (Leger dress, Credit: PRPhotos) and 9/23/10 (Fuschia top, credit: WENN) Ryan Phillippe is shown on 6/12/11 (Credit: PRPhotos and WENN.com)

As much as I feel badly about drawing this comparison, I’m actually quite worried that Demi Lovato really might be the new Lindsay Lohan. The similarities between the two are just too uncanny. They’ve both risen to quasi-stardom under the graces of Disney and rehabbed at a very young age. Once Lohan escaped from the House of Mouse, her acting career was essentially over because, years later, her biggest box-office hit is still Herbie: Fully Loaded, and it’s doubtful that anyone even watched that movie for anything other than the talking car. Similarly, Demi recently left her leading role on the “Sonny With a Chance” show, which has largely gone on by simply erasing her character and retitling itself as “So Random.” In addition, the two actresses have also experienced the mutual joy of being on-off-girlfriends to predatory skeeveball Wilmer Valderrama, and now they’re both revealed to have sketchy mothers too.

While Demi’s recently taken public steps to discuss the problems that put her on the path to rehab, it seems that her own mother has just completed her own round of rehab for undisclosed issues. Drugs? Who knows. Also, Wilmer and Demi are “off” again:

Actress and singer Lovato last November admitted herself to an Illinois clinic for treatment for “emotional and physical” issues, and during that time her mom, Dianna Hart de la Garza, was a constant support.

But sources tell us de la Garza, a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, was recently forced to get treatment herself and was admitted to rehab at an undisclosed location.

A source told us, “It has been a tough year for Demi, and her mom has been a constant source of support. But fame has also taken its toll on her family. Now [that] Demi is strong again, her mom could take some time to deal with her own issues.”

It’s believed that de la Garza has completed treatment and is back with her family.

Last month Lovato, who had the words “Stay Strong” tattoed on her wrists after her treatment — which reportedly was for eating disorders and cutting — revealed that her mother surprised her by getting a matching tattoo. “My mom surprised me with it when I was in treatment,” Demi tweeted. “And she wanted to show me how proud she was of me for getting help and changing my life . . . I love her so much.”

“Sonny With a Chance” star Lovato, 18, whose new album is out in the fall, dated 31-year-old “That ’70s Show” star Valderrama — who once dated Lindsay Lohan — before and after completing her treatment in late January. They were spotted in February on a movie date and shopping for food, according to reports.

But sources tell us they have now decided to split, adding, “The age difference meant they were in completely different places in their lives.”

[From NY Post]

Notice how the article never mentions Demi’s father, which lends some credence to the further notion that Demi might indeed have some underlying daddy issues at work, hence her decision to date creeper Wilmer. This is a guy who’s known to prefer very young, pliable girls and, if nothing else, contribute to their already fragile states of mind. Also, I don’t doubt that this breakup is only temporary because Demi’s taken his unshaven skeeviness back once before, but I’ve never understood his appeal at all. Other than his tenure as the pervy kid from “That ’70s Show,” Valderrama’s claim to fame is voicing twenty episodes of “Handy Manny.” On the bright side, that gives him lots of time to scope out his next hot young piece. Ugh. Demi needs to run from him and never look back again.

Photos courtesy of Fame Pictures

It’s been a rough ride for Demi Lovato, who has spent the last several months narrowly avoiding becoming a premature Disney casualty. Just a few years ago, Demi was still denying that she cut herself despite plenty of pictorial evidence to the contrary. Messy breakups with Joe Jonas and the suspicious influence of Wilmer Valderrama (not to mention his continued involvement in her life) certainly didn’t help matters either. Then, she had a physical altercation with one of her backup dancers on tour and subsequently checked herself into treatment for both emotional and physical reasons, but she did her rehab time without any additional outward fuss (and is possibly still continuing out-patient treatment for the eating disorder). Now, Demi’s coming clean to “Good Morning America” about her extended affair with both eating disorders and cutting:

Demi told GMA anchor Robin Roberts that she was constantly bullied in school for her weight. “I literally didn’t know why they were being so mean to me. And when I would ask them why, they would just say, ‘Well, you’re fat.’”

The Disney star admitted that she developed an eating disorder early on, and has been having issues with food ever since. “I was compulsively overeating when I was eight years old. … So, I guess, for the past 10 years I’ve had a really unhealthy relationship with food.” While her food issues began at age eight, Demi says it wasn’t until age 11 that she began to cut herself. She explained her reasoning for the cutting, telling Robin:

“It was a way of expressing my own shame, of myself, on my own body. I was matching the inside to the outside. And there were some times where my emotions were just so built up, I didn’t know what to do. The only way that I could get instant gratification was through an immediate release on myself.”

[From Celebuzz]

Lovato’s been talking a lot lately, which is key to making amends in recovery, although I suspect the fact that she’s been talking a lot to the press is because Disney’s forcing her to do it. Still, the fact that Demi’s owning up to the fact that teen stardom isn’t all sweetness and light (such as her recent admission of a nervous breakdown in Seventeen magazine) might actually be beneficial to her fans. Included in her fandom is my own 10-year-old daughter, with whom I have discussed Lovato’s troubles in an attempt to curb the Disney idol worship. Of course, Lovato herself will now be less of a Disney presence since she just announced that she’s quitting her show, “Sonny with a Chance” too:

“It made sense for me to go ahead and leave the show to focus on my music,” Lovato, 18, tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “It’s kind of sad for me that a chapter of my life has ended but there couldn’t be a better time for me to move on.”

“I don’t think going back to Sonny would be healthy for my recovery,” says Lovato, who returned to Los Angeles in January after completing three months of residential treatment. “Being in front of a camera would make me nervous.”

And she has the support of the Disney Channel.

“We respect Demi’s decision to focus fulltime on her music and not immediately return to her acting career,” a rep for the Disney Channel said in a statement. “She is a talented young woman and our hearts are with her as she continues to take action to improve her health and bounce back from adversity.”

Lovato’s career took off after starring in the Disney Channel’s 2008 original movie Camp Rock, opposite the Jonas Brothers. Next came “Sonny with a Chance,” which debuted in 2010.

But even without its main star, the show will still go on: the series is being reinvented as a sketch comedy program called “So Random!,” which will debut in June.

Lovato, who will continue to record under Disney’s label Hollywood Records, calls her decision to walk away from her TV gig “nerve-racking.” But, she says, “I’m really excited to see where everything goes.”

[From People]

Well, Disney’s not really losing anything here because they can easily spin off “So Random!,” which is the series-within-a-series featured within “Sonny” itself. It appears slightly ominous that Demi’s decision to focus on the music doesn’t mean striking out on her own and finding a new record label but, instead, just sticking with the easier option of Disney’s label. Unfortunately, she’s probably contractually bound to continue on with Disney, which is probably actually the case since they have put up the appearance of letting her “Sonny” obligations fall by the wayside. At this point, Lovato herself is merely 18-years-old, but she’s been with Disney for a few years already. I’d be interested to know whether she signed new contracts with Disney after she became an adult, or if she’s still fulfilling old agreements. It’s amazing how the law generally protects minors from entering into contracts, but the entertainment business is a whole different matter when stage parents and multimillions of dollars are involved.

Photos of Lovato announcing nominations for the 2010 American Music Awards courtesy of Fame Pictures

Disney star Demi Lovato, 18, got out of three months of rehab in early February, having been sent there by her people after she punched a backup dancer in the face while on tour with the Jonas Brothers. Demi was definitely out of control when she got sent for treatment, she was physically abusive and was said to be doing drugs, but her people spun it like she was getting treatment for emotional issues that came to a head with that one incident. Other stories came out about her struggles with bulimia and with cutting, and now Demi is ready to talk about what she went through. She has an upcoming interview with Robin Roberts, her first since rehab, to air on 20/20 Friday and she also has another interview with Seventeen. She’s been appointed as the spokesperson for Seventeen’s “Pressure to Be Perfect” campaign, and will give advice to teens in a twice monthly column on their website.

In Seventeen, Demi describes what happened to her as a “nervous breakdown” and tells them that she’s still struggling with bulimia:

On her nervous breakout
“I basically had a nervous breakdown. I was really bad off. My parents and my manager pulled me aside and said, ‘You need to get some help.’ It was an intervention. I wanted freedom from the inner demons. I wanted to start my life over.”

SL: Have there been times recently when you feel like it could be so tempting to go back to your old dangerous habits, like eating disorders?
DL: Yes, there have been times when I definitely have been tempted to get rid of my dinner. But I will deal with it for the rest of my life because it’s a life-long disease. I don’t think there’s going to be a day when I don’t think about food or my body, but I’m living with it, and I wish I could tell young girls to find their safe place and stay with it.

17: How do you keep yourself in a safe place?
DL: I don’t let anyone’s insecurities, emotions, or opinions bother me. I know that if I am happy, that’s all that matters to me. And it’s okay to be selfish like that sometimes, when it comes to your well-being. Do what makes you happy, and don’t care what others think.

17: How do you define your personality now that you’re out of treatment?
DL: I don’t really define it by anything. I live my life every day, and if I feel like wearing combat boots one day and shoes the next, I will. I allow myself a lot of freedom and I’m very peaceful now. I have come to realize that just making yourself happy is most important. Never be ashamed of what you feel. You have the right to feel any emotion that you want, and to do what makes you happy. That’s my life motto.

[From Seventeen Magazine, with more in the May issue]

She’s been working for Disney since she was 15 and was acting at the age of 7. That’s a huge amount of pressure and can’t be easy to cope with. I give this girl a lot of credit for taking her rehab seriously and for coming out the other side of it. She also didn’t talk to the press right away and waited until she had a couple of months to adjust to life before doing interviews. (She did do a video thanking her fans last month.) However we last heard that she was dating Wilmer Valderrama and that doesn’t bode well for her sobriety or her self esteem. You have to have a pretty low opinion of yourself to get with that guy.

Photo below is from 8/18/10. Credit: Fame. Header photo credit: Seventeen

Above is a video that Demi Lovato made over the weekend. Demi is thanking her fans for supporting her through her emotional breakdown a few months ago, in which Demi went into rehab for her eating disorder and what appeared to be a nervous breakdown. Demi got out of rehab back in January (although she’s still being treated as an out-patient, to my knowledge)… and this is her first public statement, to my knowledge. Demi says in part:

“I wanted to let you know that I am back and home…I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for the support you guys have given me along the way…Your support is what got me through this… The journey that I’ve been on has been very difficult over the past few months. I was dealing with issues that I know not only girls just my age but of all ages are dealing with. I hope to one day raise awareness… so I can help people the way you helped me during this rough time. I can’t tell you how much light you guys brought into my life in probably the darkest time of my life. Without you guys, I wouldn’t be here today…I am excited to get back to work.”

Well… good for her. I’m still worried though, just because of those rumors that she’s still hanging out with noted jailbait-loving douche Wilmer Valderrama. Wilmer is the kind of predator that can destroy any young girl’s sanity, over and over again.

Photos courtesy of Fame.