Demi Lovato Steps Down From ‘Hungry’ Sitcom, Ariel Winter Replaces
Demi Lovato was set to star in NBC’s comedy series, Hungry, but had to step down due to scheduling conflicts. Lovato, 29, will still executive produce the sitcom, which centers around a group of friends who attend a food issue support group and help each other as they look for love, success and the perfect thing in the fridge that’s going to make it all better.
Per the New York Post, Modern Family alum Ariel Winter will take over Lovato’s lead character Teddy, a food stylist who is trying to have a healthy relationship with food while dating men. The part marks a comeback for Winter, 24, who suffers from depression and body image after her own public weight loss garnered a lot of attention.
Meanwhile, the show seemed a suitable fit for the “Cool for the Summer” singer, as they have openly discussed struggling with body image issues and eating disorders in the past. Lovato has coped with anorexia and bulimia throughout their career and has been focused on body positivity in recent years. In their 2017 YouTube documentary, Simply Complicated, Lovato discussed how food was “the biggest challenge in my life” and they opened up about their eating issues.
“When I was in a relationship with Wilmer [Valderrama] I went three years without purging and when we broke up that’s one of the first things I did,” they said in the documentary. “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.”
Lovato added that their relapse occurred when they started to miss their ex. “And when I feel lonely, my heart feels hungry and I end up binging,” the “Dancing With the Devil” singer continued. Their problems with food started to occur during childhood, they explained, with the binging beginning at 8 years old after their younger sister was born.
Hungry also stars Valerie Bertinelli, Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, Ryan McPartlin, Anna Akana and Ashley D. Kelley. Veteran sitcom star and Food Network chef Bertinelli, 61, was previously spotted filming a scrapped version of the Hungry pilot in Central Park back in July 2021. Bertinelli will play Teddy’s mom, Lisa, who is a restaurant owner and has had her own issues with weight.
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