Screenshot Henri Alexander Levy
Since completing her 90-day stint in rehab, Demi Lovato has regularly been seen with close friend Henri Levy, also known as Henri Alexander Levy. The pair were first spotted together on November 4, when they enjoyed a dinner date at Matsuhisa restaurant in Beverly Hills, and were seen walking around West Hollywood the following night.
These sightings have caused many to speculate as to whether Lovato, 26, and Levy are romantically involved or just good friends. To learn more about their relationship, and Levy’s professional background, read on below.
1. Levy Met Lovato When They Were Both At a Rehab Facility
The pair reportedly met a few years ago at a rehab facility. “Henry and Demi met a few years ago in rehab,” a source told Entertainment Tonight. “They hit it off immediately and became fast friends. Henry takes his sober life very seriously and, when Demi sadly relapsed, they lost touch for some time.”
According to ET, the pair have reconciled over Lovato’s committment to sobriety. “Demi is taking her sobriety extremely serious, and knows she has a long road ahead of her,” claimed an inside source. “At the end of the day, Demi is doing this for herself. She has to stay sober for her, but every time she has family or friends visit her it reminds her of all the other important people in her life that she needs to fight for as well.” Levy and Lovato reconciled within the past week, as TMZ snapped photos of them attending an AA meeting and getting coffee together. The following evening, Levy and Lovato were seen having dinner and holding hands at a restaurant in Beverly Hills.
Levy has stated in the past that sobriety is key to his life and the motivation to keep working. “I look at a successful day, like, did you make something?” he told Complex. “Even if business is great, I don’t value a day as a good day if I didn’t make something — whether it be a shi*ty punk song or a tight drawing, or painting. If I didn’t make something, the day doesn’t sit well with me. I think that’s kind of keeping me straight now.”
2. He Founded the Clothing Line Enfants Riches Déprimé In 2012
Levy is best known for being the founder and creator of the clothing line Enfants Riches Déprimé. The fashion line sells in extremely limited quantities and is known for being incredibly pricey. It is also notable for its punk-influenced studded leather jackets, some which are going for upwards of $7K on Farfetch. The cheapest t-shirt available on Enfants Riches Déprimé, according to Entertainment Tonight, runs at $334.
Levy’s designs have elicited controversy over the years, particularly the shirts that bear slogans like “My Nazi parents” and shirts that featured Mickey Mouse emblazoned with a swastika having sexual intercourse with Minnie Mouse after presumably giving her a black eye. Levy also caused controversy when he sold a $7,000 cashmere noose. “If you were going to kill yourself, wouldn’t you want to do it with a $7,000 cashmere noose?” he explained to The Guardian in 2016.
Despite this controversy, Levy’s designs have earned endorsements from numerous celebrities. His clothes have been worn by artists like Justin Bieber, Travis Scott, Kanye West, and Jared Leto. He’s also made several pieces for Beyoncé during her famous Formation Tour. And while Lovato has yet to sport any of the Enfants Riches Déprimé brand, she did begin following the Enfants Instagram page on October 18.
3. Lovato’s Friends Say That Levy Has Been a ‘Positive Influence’ On Her
According to Entertainment Tonight, Levy has been “exactly the friend Demi needs right now,” and “her friends feel he is a positive influence on her.” The ET source also stated: “Demi has struggled for so long with addiction and her friends and family couldn’t be more proud of her work. This process has been incredibly beneficial to Demi in so many ways. She is not only clean and sober but she has an entirely new lifestyle.”
Levy spoke at length about the perils of substance abuse during an interview with Complex Magazine. “I was, like, a f**k up in high school,” he revealed. “I was caught up in drugs and sh** like that. That’s when it was on some not-flossy sh*t. Like, came out and was sleeping in a bunk bed with a bunch of 50-year-old meth addicts trying to recover.”
Levy credits his time at a Betty Ford treatment center in Hazelden, Oregon as what turned him around. “Being around those kids [in rehab], just their absurd entitlement and everything, definitely had an influence,” he said. “They don’t have to work a day in their lives, you know what I mean? Their complete existence is based around what other people think… And that’s when I started coming up with the idea for the brand.”
4. He Was Involved In a 2016 Instagram Feud With Black Anvil
Henri Alexander Levy comment
Prior to his friendship with Lovato, Levy made headlines for a 2016 Instagram feud with the punk band Black Anvil. The band called Levy’s brand “wack” online after Kim Kardashian was seen wearing an Enfants Riches Déprimé jacket, and Levy responded to their post with a series of stinging insults.
“Ur such a pu**y,” he wrote, in a since deleted comment. “Look how much I control your emotions that u made a whole post about my work. Little B**ch a** Punk police. I will r*pe and exploit and pillage whatever I want and I will sell it for thousands while u sit here and just feed me more attention. Know your place u stupid f*ck.”
Levy defended his brand and his punk aesthetic in a subsequent interview with Vogue Magazine. “When I said that I felt it was a fitting representation, but I think the term “punk” is reductive,” he explained. “Enfants Riches Déprimés is a place in which conceptual art, literature, music (punk, hardcore, dream pop, post punk, new wave), abstract neo-expressionism and luxury meet. The luxury side is extremely important for me. It’s not for everyone.”
5. Neither Levy nor Lovato Have Publicly Confirmed Their Romance
Neither Lovato or Levy have confirmed that they are romantically involved. Per TMZ, the most important thing to Lovato at the current time is staying clean– to the extent that she is splitting her between a halfway house and a private home in Los Angeles. TMZ adds that the singer feels the need to spend a big chunk of her time at a sober house so that she may have access to counselors and people with whom she can relate.
Addiction specialist Jennifer Gimenez told HollywoodLife that putting off the relationship for the time being might be the best option for Lovato. “In early recovery, it’s really important to focus on yourself,” she explained. “When you’re newly sober there’s one thing you need to change, and that’s everything. It’s essential at that time that you surround yourself with people that only want the best for you, and it’s really important to steer clear of embarking on any kind of romantic relationship for at least a year.”
“As a newly sober and recovering person, you don’t want anything in your life that is going to act as a distraction, and take away your focus from your sobriety,” Gimenez added. “It’s key to recovery to have as many good, healthy people around you as possible.”