Iggy Azalea knew Demi Lovato had broken her sobriety long before she announced it in new single Sober.
The Australian rapper publicly praised her longtime friend for her bravery following the song's release last month (Jun18) but has since revealed that the confession came as no shock to her.
"I had known about it, as a close friend," Iggy admitted in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. "I had really wanted for her to be the one to tell people that. And I worried a lot, as her friend, that something was going to leak or somebody would somehow take that and use it negatively against her, or to make her seem like she's got a secret."
The Fancy rapper went on to share that while she didn't actively encourage 25-year-old Demi to open up about her struggles, she did secretly hope that her pal would share the news with fans and "own it".
"It's not my business to say to my friend, 'You need to fess up,'" she continued. "But as a friend, you worry and you're like, 'Oh, my God, my friend, she has this thing that people can use against her and I really want her to own it.' And she did!"
Demi confirmed she had suffered a relapse after celebrating six years of sobriety from alcohol and drugs in March with song lyrics that included: "Momma, I'm so sorry, I'm not sober anymore" and "To the ones who never left me, we've been down this road before."
Among the wave of positive support from fans and friends that ensued, Iggy, 28, was one of the first to praise the former Disney star for her bravery in speaking out and vowed to stick by her as she embarked on the road to recovery once again.
"Waking up listening to @ddlovato's sober. I'm proud of you for having the guts to reveal your truth to the world again. NOT. EASY (sic)," she tweeted at the time. "I'm here for you friend! (you know this). I'll pray you'll choose recovery again. All of us who love you only want to see you happy and healthy."
