Patrick Lovato, ‘X Factor’ USA judge Demi Lovato’s father, dead

Sad news breaking now from the world of “The X Factor” judge Demi Lovato: Based on reaction from Twitter and from her sister Dallas, the singer’s father Patrick has passed away. Details are still coming in when it comes to the reason, but the man reportedly had a lengthy battle with cancer.

Demi has yet to address the news publicly, but countless messages of support have come out on the social-networking site for her entire family. She and her biological dad did not have a close relationship, as evidenced by some of the music that came out of it. “For the Love of a Daughter” was a song that came out on the subject from her album “Unbroken,” and the lyrics were inspired by her own experiences growing up without him as a part of her life.

Demi first got her start working on “Barney & Friends” years ago alongside friend Selena Gomez, and the two eventually evolved into stars on the Disney Channel, with them each having their own shows. Lovato ended up leaving “Sonny with a Chance” after a stay in a treatment facility, but joined Simon Cowell’s singing competition last year following some success with “Unbroken” and received positive reviews for her role.

We’ve embedded a brief video below of Patrick talking about his daughter on “Inside Edition” a few years ago, unfortunately there are not many video interviews out there that are more recent.

Since this news is breaking, be sure to keep checking back for more as the story develops. Demi has spent much of the past week conducting auditions for “The X Factor” in New York. It is still to be seen whether or not this will impact filming on the show in the weeks ahead.

Photo: Fox