Demi Lovato Opens Up About Abusive Dad In New Emotional Ballad

Demi Lovato opened up about a song that helped her cope with the mixed feelings of his abusive father, who passed away in June 2013. "I was very conflicted when he passed because he was abusive," Lovato says in a video, which reveals the meaning behind her song "Father." "He was mean, but he wanted to be a good person, and he wanted to have his family. When my mom married my stepdad he still had this huge heart where he would say, 'I'm so glad Eddie's taking care of you and doing the job that I wish I could do."

Demi said she realizes that her father simply “wasn’t capable of raising a family,” and attributes that to a mental disease. “To know that it wasn’t really his fault really was saddening to me,” she said. “I wanted to write about it. I wanted to process it, and ‘Father’ really helped me do that.”The singer also sent out a photo collage of father, noting, “Can’t believe it’s already been a year… Wish I could’ve hugged you one last time. RIP Daddy, I love you.”

Watch the interview in full here: