TMZ was the first outlet to report that Demi Lovato suffered an opioid overdose in July after freebasing oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl — the same drug that killed Prince.
Now the website has spoken to the man who admits he supplied her with drugs that fateful morning — and he says he never meant to hurt Demi, who knew exactly what she was using.
According to Brandon Johnson, when he first got to know Demi — who celebrated six years of sobriety in March before she started using drugs again — "It was a flirty friendship but nothing more. It kind of grew into more of a sexual friendship. We were just hanging out," he told TMZ's videographer. "Later on in the relationship, we messed around, but for the most part, we were just friends." (TMZ's Demi sources claim Brandon and the pop star did not have a sexual relationship.)
When Demi reached out to him in the early-morning hours of July 24 after she returned to her Hollywood Hills home from a dancer pal's birthday party, he came over and brought drugs with him. "She texted me at 4 o'clock in the morning because she's a girl and she wanted to kick it, I mean, why else does any other girl text another guy at 4 o'clock in the morning to come over?" Brandon told TMZ.
According to Brandon, "We hung out, we watched our detective shows as usual. She's a cool girl that watches a lot of true-crime detective shows," he said.
He admits they used drugs. (TMZ previously reported that Demi freebased pills that came from Mexico off tin foil.) "She sometimes has such long days, stressful hours, stressful job, so you know, unwind a little bit," he said.
According to Brandon, Demi — who entered rehab after spending nearly two weeks in a Los Angeles hospital recovering from her OD — knew exactly what she was taking, though he claims he does not know if the pills also contained fentanyl. "100 percent she knew what she was taking," Brandon told TMZ. "I disclosed to her that these are not pharmaceutical, they're aftermarket pills, they're much stronger, she understood fully."
"I'm not sure what was mixed, to tell you the truth," he added. "It's just something that happened. It's unfortunate. I wasn't sure that even smoking can hurt somebody like that, you know, [lead to an] overdose."
He feels terrible that she overdosed and insists he never intended for her to suffer. "It was unfortunate what happened," Brandon said. "But for people to think that there was any [deception] on my behalf is absolutely ridiculous. I'm not here to hurt anybody. I care for her very much."
Brandon also insists that Demi — who was discovered unconscious in her bedroom around 11 a.m. by an assistant or bodyguard, who called 911, TMZ previously reported — was OK when he left her. "When I was with her, she was fine for the whole time," he said. "When I showed up, she was a little drunk, besides that nothing out of the ordinary."
When he left her home after dawn, Demi was sleeping peacefully, he insists. "She fell asleep, it happens all the time. We hang out, we do whatever we need to do, and she ends up passing out. It was already like 7, 8 o'clock at that time, so… she passed out and I leave as I normally do. I put her under the covers, I tucked her in."
Brandon admits Demi's OD has impacted him, though he doesn't say if he's still involved with drugs himself. "It's definitely a wake-up call for her obviously and for me, it definitely opened my eyes to the dangers of these drugs," he told TMZ. "I mean, they're fun but in the wrong hands or the wrong usage, they can be harmful, you know what I mean?"
"I hate to hurt anybody. I'm not trying to hurt my friend — she's a really good friend of mine, I care for her a lot and I hope she's OK," he continued. "I hope she comes through this better than she was before…"
Law enforcement sources previously told TMZ that Brandon was busted with drugs, guns and cash in March — one month before sources claimed Demi linked up with him. Law enforcement sources also told TMZ that cops allegedly found "narcotics, a fully loaded semi-automatic handgun and $10K in his pocket" when they picked Brandon up in North Hollywood this spring. Upon searching his home, they found more drugs, more guns and ammunition. TMZ reported that the district attorney has not charged him in this arrest.
In June, Brandon was arrested again and charged with DUI as well as cocaine possession, TMZ reported.