Demi Lovato’s Backup Dancer Dani Vitale Denies Giving Singer Drugs Before Apparent Overdose

Demi Lovato’s longtime backup dancer and friend Dani Vitale is denying rumors she gave the singer drugs, and speaking up about the depression she felt after those accusations spread online.

The dancer published a long essay on her Instagram Thursday, where she made it clear she was not responsible for Lovato’s relapse.

“I have NEVER touched nor SEEN a drug in my entire life,” Vitale wrote. “I DO NOT DO DRUGS, nor would I ever encourage, or supply them to anyone I love.”

Vitale, 28, went on to write about how she had been out celebrating her birthday with friends on July 23. The next morning, she woke up to a call about Lovato’s overdose, as first reported by PEOPLE.

“My whole being was ridden with sadness, confusion, love and hopelessness,” she said.

After the incident, rumors flooded social media about Vitale having suppled the drugs to Lovato, sending Vitale into a dark place.

“I wound up not leaving my house nor my bed for 3 weeks,” she said on Instagram. “Ridden with severe depression, fear, anxiety, sadness, anger, disgust, numbness and many more adjectives that I’ve been feeling that I sadly can’t even put into words.”

“After days of countless nights not being able to sleep, or waking up in a full sweat and soaking in my own tears, I was forced to put my phone in a dresser drawer,” Vitale added. “Terrified to open a blind or to get out of bed, my house remained just as dark as my mind daily. I thought if I stayed asleep, that was the time I didn’t have to be conscious living in this hell that was being forced upon me. And there were nights I would honestly hope I wouldn’t wake up the next morning so I didn’t have to live through this anymore and it would all go away. I couldn’t shower, eat, sleep, keep food down, or engage in anything outside of just saying, ‘Why?’”

Distraught and scared, Vitale said she felt isolated from her work and abandoned by those around her.

“I do what I do because I loved it, and the world was taking that away from me,” she wrote on Instagram. “People that I thought loved me were nowhere to be found or heard from. Companies stopped replying [to] emails and I was alone. Please keep in mind this isn’t me being dramatic, nor am I an over-emotional person, but this situation has been unlike anything I have ever lived through and this is the truth.”

Vitale revealed that though she has returned to teaching dancing lessons in Los Angeles, she still feels the pain from the ordeal.

“I’m still scared to touch my phone and open it, and trying to resume my ‘normal’ life has been brutally unbearable,” Vitale wrote. “I’ve driven somewhere, then have to been too scared to leave my car, super insecure even ordering a simple cup of coffee.”

“The circulation of an UNTRUE story on the internet yanked my life, my reputation, my name and everything I have worked so hard to stand for, out from underneath me. A damaging narrative that demonized me, placed blame on me, and has since cost me so many wonderful moments in life,” she added. “This UNTRUE narrative is damaging innocent people’s lives, mine included. We are so quick to point the finger with little to ZERO facts at all.”

She said that the experience allowed her to truly understand the troubles of online bullying, something she hopes people will think about before they post mean comments online.

“For the first time in my life, I was witnessing how disturbingly sick so many people are on the Internet,” she said on Instagram. “Those words I and you read are real and it affects us no matter how strong or secure we are. Even with how open I am on Instagram, people obviously STILL don’t know who I am to the core and they will choose to make their own story about us [up] no matter how transparent we are.”

“Some of you might say ‘Well writing this, you are basically saying the bullies won.’ No. They didn’t win s—. If anything, they lost because I am going to do anything and everything I can to put some sort of stop to this for anyone.”

She ended her emotional message by referencing the monologue Lovato gave prior to her performance of “Sorry Not Sorry” at the 2017 American Music Awards.

“There’s so much hate in this world, we have to rise above,” Vitale wrote, quoting Lovato. “Never say sorry for who you are.”

Since the incident, Lovato has checked into rehab and is seeking treatment for her problems with addiction. She opened up about the incident just before she checked into the facility, asking for time for her to work on her struggles.