JoJo Never Thought She Would Struggle with Addiction Like Her Parents. Then It Took Hold: 'Super Self-Righteous' (Exclusive)

• Memoirs of Joanna “JoJo” Levesque, Through influenceit’s out now
• In the book, she writes about growing up with parents who were addicted and how she eventually struggled with alcohol and addiction.
• JoJo opens up to PEOPLE about realizing she was going through patterns of addiction in her own life

Joanna “JoJo” Levesque learned firsthand that no one is exempt from addiction.

In his new memoir Through influenceout now, the musician and author, 33, recalls spending much of her childhood in church basements while her parents, mum Diana and late dad Joel, attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Witnessing their struggles, she thought, would prevent her from experiencing similar patterns—but she later abused alcohol and drugs as a young adult.

“For a while I was super smug and I thought I’d never be like my parents. I said, ‘No, because I’m the strongest. I’m wicked strong,'” JoJo tells PEOPLE exclusively. “But then I thought, ‘Oh, what I’m doing is neither better nor worse. I am the child of my parents and I must be alert to what is happening inside me.”

Book cover of ‘Over the Influence’ by Joanna “JoJo” Levesque.

Amazon

JoJo’s parents’ relationship began at AA meetings; Diana was an alcoholic and Joel used substances, including pills. They divorced when she was 5 years old, and she moved in with her mother, who soon listened to her daughter’s begging and began bringing her to local auditions for TV programs featuring talented children.

Over the next few years, JoJo showed off her young powerful vocals Destination Stardom, The Rosie O’Donnell Show and America’s Most Talented Kidsamong other things. Her mom soon became skeptical of the entertainment industry, but JoJo persisted in becoming a star – and convinced herself that she could lift them out of poverty.

“I think I really kind of felt like things weren’t going to be okay, and things weren’t okay,” says JoJo, who moved around a lot with her mom and often stayed with friends or family. “I just said, ‘That’s okay because I’m going to be famous.'”

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Joanna “JoJo” Levesque and her mom Diana.

Courtesy of the author

After turning down multiple offers, Diana allowed JoJo to sign with Blackground Records at the age of 12 – but demanded that she manage her own daughter. About a year later, JoJo scored a chart-topping single with 2004’s “Leave (Get Out),” became a celebrity, and embarked on a world tour. “I thought, ‘Oh, well, he’s taken my whole life, so it’s about time,'” she recalls.

The new lifestyle, however, proved difficult for her mother. “She was a single mother, she was a singer, she did what she needed to do to make money cleaning houses, and then she became the manager of this young phenomenon,” says JoJo. “It’s so weird and scary.”

As her daughter’s fame continued to rise, Diana began to hear rumors of shady dealings in the music industry and became paranoid. She started drinking again, experienced mental health issues and eventually contemplated suicide, which was answered by the teenage JoJo. “I’m so grateful he’s here,” she says.

Joanna “JoJo” Levesque.

Amy Sussman/Getty

Including such dark moments in Through influence it was not easy for any of them. Before she started writing the book, JoJo told Diana she would be writing about “some of the hardest times of my life” and promised to paint her as a “full human being” in the pages. After her mother read the polished draft, JoJo says, “She was proud of me and that meant a lot to me.”

The mother-daughter duo has remained close to this day. They lived together throughout the COVID pandemic, JoJo introduced her in the song “Proud” from her 2020 album. Good to knowand Diana attended the premiere of her daughter as Satine in Moulin Rouge! Musical on Broadway last year.

“I admire her for many things – her poise, her dedication to health and her ability to take charge. I really like that about her,” says JoJo. – She is such a beautiful person.

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Joel Levesque and Joanna “JoJo” Levesque.

Courtesy of the author

Jo’s father was a constant presence in her life. She loved spending time with him as a child and bonding over music, but his addiction worsened during her teenage and young adult years, as did his health, so she didn’t see him as much. When she did, he clearly struggled and often did not have stable housing.

He says she tried to help him multiple times and even got him a place to live and access to experts to help him get back on his feet, but he couldn’t commit. “I think my dad was trapped in his body. He had so many struggles in his mind,” she says of Joel, who died in November 2015. “During his death, I had to learn that some people, as much as we want them around , sometimes it’s the end of their journey.”

Through years of therapy, she realized, “I couldn’t be responsible for the life or happiness of either of my parents—because I’d felt responsible for a long time.”

Joanna “JoJo” Levesque.

Steve Granitz/FilmMagic

Since Joel’s death, and especially since she started performing on Broadway, JoJo has constantly thought about what it would be like if her father were around today. “Sometimes I’ll walk around the apartment and say, ‘Y— you, man,’ with a smile, ‘You know you should be here. You know you should be in that audience,'” she says. “He would love him, and he always has.”

As for JoJo, her first experience with alcohol was a drunken teenage night on tour, but she was later caught by Diana and stayed away from drinking for years. As she approached adulthood, Blackground lost her distribution deal and was no longer able to properly release music, but the label still had the rights to her commercial recordings under her contract.

Frustrated with various elements of her life, she began to drink more regularly and use drugs like Adderall and Xanax in personal and business settings. She even drove a car drunk on several occasions.

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Joanna “JoJo” Levesque.

Coming out of record label limbo in 2014, plus subsequent trips to therapy and focusing on her physical health, helped JoJo find a healthier relationship with alcohol and drugs.

Still, she felt unsettled. Towards the end of her book writing process in 2023, she came to terms with the various repeated patterns of addiction in her life and decided to attend an AA meeting with a friend.

“You can feel less alone in an AA meeting when people share, and AA really stands for Alcoholics Anonymous, but people are after a lot of things. People who are addicted to love or sex or food or whatever, they’re going after what they need,” says JoJo, who adds that she’s not sober today. “I simply felt that I needed a sense of community and home. I felt far from myself, and that has been a touchstone for me since I was young.”

Open about his own struggles Through influence it wasn’t easy for JoJo, but if it can help any reader process their own trauma, it was worth it. “I just hope that people are encouraged to let go of any shame they’ve felt about different things in their lives,” she says, “and live unapologetically, freely and clear-eyed, no longer influenced by things that aren’t really. faithful to them.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the SAMHSA Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.

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Source: HIS Education