Demi Lovato discusses father's death on 'Good Morning America'
Demi Lovato at an "X Factor" press conference at Nassau Coliseum. (June 20, 2013) Credit: Getty Images
Singer and "X Factor" judge Demi Lovato says she is getting through the recent death of her estranged father.
"I'm handling it OK," Lovato, 20, told Robin Roberts on "Good Morning America" Thursday. "My father and I didn't have the most ideal relationship but at the end of the day he's still my dad and I grew up with him and he was a wonderful person. And it's difficult but I'm handling it OK."
The singer's rep confirmed on Monday that Patrick Lovato, father of Demi and her sister Dallas, 25, died over the weekend. Dallas on Saturday tweeted, "Rest in peace, daddy. I love you."
The following day, Demi tweeted, "I feel so humbled to have had so much support from my fans, friends, family and complete strangers. God bless you all, thank you so much."
It was not until Monday that she tweeted, "RIP Daddy. I love you. Love, Your little partner," accompanied by a picture of her with him when she was a little girl.
"I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason," Lovato told Roberts. "And I've dealt with mental illnesses [and] my father also dealt with mental illness, and he wasn't able to function very well in society. That happens to a lot of people," she continued, "and this week I'm launching the Demi Lovato Treatment Scholarship program. And I'm basically helping one person at a time -- I'm going to pay for their treatment."
Her fans, she added, "have stood by me through everything that I've been through in my life, including this past week; it's been a really rough week. But I've had incredible support from them," she said, "and they can help me get through anything."
