Singer JoJo revealed she never thought she would have addiction issues like her parents did, before succumbing to substance abuse problems herself.
The 33-year-old singer named Joanna Levesque, whose real name was “Too Little, Too Late,” detailed how many of her childhood years were spent in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, with her mother Diana and late father Joel, in her new memoir Over the Influence.
And although JoJo — who recently recalled how she became addicted to sex, drugs and alcohol — believed she would avoid the same addiction problems, she ultimately experienced similar issues.
“For a while, I felt very self-righteous and thought I would never be like my parents. I thought, ‘No, because I’m the strongest. I’m incredibly strong,'” she said. People on Tuesday.
“But then I thought, ‘Oh, what I’m doing is neither better nor worse. I’m my parents’ son and I need to be aware of what’s going on inside me.'”
Singer JoJo, 33, revealed she never thought she would struggle with addiction like her parents did, before succumbing to substance abuse issues herself; seen in September
JoJo’s parents, both of whom struggled with substance abuse issues, met at an AA meeting.
Diana was an alcoholic while Joel used substances, including pills.
They divorced when she was five and she moved in with her mother, who began taking her to auditions for children’s television shows.
In the following years, JoJo appeared on shows such as America’s Most Talented Kids, Destination Stardom, and The Rosie O’Donnell Show.
Despite her mother’s doubts about the entertainment industry, JoJo was determined to lift the family out of poverty.
“I think I somehow felt like things weren’t going to be okay, and things weren’t okay,” she revealed, sharing that she and Diana moved frequently and often stayed with family and friends.
“I just thought, ‘It’s okay because I’m going to be famous.'”
JoJo signed with Blackground Records at age 12, and her mother insisted on managing her career.
A year later she topped the charts with her hit “Leave (Get Out)” and became an instant celebrity.
The transition was not easy for Diana.
“She was a single mom, she was a singer, she did what she had to do to make money cleaning houses and then she became the representative of this young phenomenon. It’s very strange and scary,” JoJo shared.
In her new memoir, Over the Influence, she detailed how many years of her childhood she spent in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, with her mother Diana and her late father Joel; she is seen with Diana in a throwback photo.
“For a while, I was very self-righteous and thought I would never be like my parents. I was like, ‘No, because I’m the strongest. I’m so damn strong,'” she told People on Tuesday. She is seen with her father, Joel.
“But then I thought, ‘Oh, what I’m doing is neither better nor worse. I’m my parents’ daughter and I need to be aware of what’s going on inside me,'” she said. She was seen with her parents.
In her memoir, JoJo said her mother began to “deeply resent” her as her career took off and would often lash out at her in anger. However, the two have healed their wounds and remain close today. They were last seen together in 2008.
As JoJo’s career continued to rise, Diana became concerned about shady dealings within the music industry and became increasingly paranoid.
In her memoir, JoJo said her mother began to “deeply resent” her and often launched virulent tirades against her.
She later began drinking again and started experiencing mental health issues that led to suicidal thoughts, and teenager JoJo had to step in and help her through the crisis.
“I’m so grateful that she’s here,” JoJo shared.
JoJo and her mother remain close and even lived together during the COVID pandemic.
In 2020, the singer dedicated the song ‘Proud’ to him on the album Good to Know.
“I admire her for so many things: her sobriety, her commitment to health and her ability to take responsibility. I love that about her. She’s a beautiful person,” the proud daughter shared.
Meanwhile, his father was an intermittent presence in his life.
Although she loved spending time with him as a child and sharing her love of music, his addiction and health worsened as she grew older, making it difficult to see him frequently.
When JoJo saw him, he was often struggling and lacking a stable place to live.
Although she tried to help him several times, including providing him with his own place and access to professionals, he was unable to follow through with the process.
Like many child stars, JoJo eventually fell into a downward spiral that led her to alcohol and drugs to combat the years she spent feeling out of place; seen in 2009.
When she finally won a years-long battle against her label and was released from her contract, she quickly turned her life around, overcoming “addictions to drugs, alcohol and sex”; seen in 2011
“I think my dad was trapped in his body. He had so many struggles in his mind. With his death, I had to learn that for some people, as much as we love them around, sometimes that means their journey is over,” she said of her father, who died in November 2015.
Over time, JoJo realized that it wasn’t her job to ensure her parents’ happiness.
‘I couldn’t be responsible for the life or happiness of either of my parents, because I felt responsible for so long.’
JoJo’s first encounter with drinking was while on tour as a teenager. However, Diana caught her and she avoided drinking for years.
After Blackground lost their distribution deal, JoJo’s frustrations with her career led her to increase her alcohol consumption and use drugs such as Adderall and Xanax. On several occasions, she drove drunk and impaired.
In 2023, she went to an AA meeting with a friend, although she adds that she is not sober today.
“I felt like I needed a sense of community and home. I felt very far from myself, and that’s been a point of reference for me since I was young.”
In her blisteringly honest new memoir, Over the Influence, JoJo spoke in detail about the demons she secretly battled.
She revealed that after participating in her first photo shoot at age 12 and seeing the images, she was so critical of her appearance that she began self-harming.
JoJo said she got so used to “sucking in her stomach” that she often “felt weak while singing” because she “wasn’t getting enough oxygen.”
Like many child stars, JoJo eventually fell into a downward spiral that led her to alcohol and drugs to combat the years she spent feeling out of place.
Things only got worse when her blossoming career came to an abrupt halt amid ongoing legal issues with her label.
She fought tirelessly to release her third album, but the label kept delaying it, leaving her feeling once again like she wasn’t good enough.
JoJo’s memoir, Over The Influence, is now available in bookstores
The star tried everything to impress record label executives, even turning to pills to try to lose weight in the hopes that they would support her music again if she looked the part.
As her album remained in limbo, her incessant partying only got worse, and in her new memoir, she recalls getting blackout drunk at major industry parties, driving under the influence and having sex with men much older than her to fuel a new obsession with “being desired.”
But through it all, JoJo remained determined to get back into music again and when she finally won a years-long battle against her label and was released from her contract, everything changed.
He quickly turned his life around, overcame his addictions to drugs, alcohol and sex and has since made a successful comeback.
JoJo’s memoir, Over The Influence, is now available in bookstores.
