DDespite the litany of social media controversies involving A-list celebrities aimed at journalists, television writers, and non-celebrity users — and the corresponding discourse on these power dynamics — in recent years, celebrities continue to exert their influence. irresponsible way for the most absurd. complaints.
The latest is an incident related to Demi Lovato and a popular frozen yogurt store in Los Angeles called The Bigg Chill. After calling the business on her Instagram on Sunday to show off and sell sugar-free cookies and other dietary foods, the former Disney star explains her role in the dramatic saga after receiving reactions online.
“I got into a situation that didn’t sit well with me,” Lovato said in an Instagram video Monday. “My intuition said I was talking about it, so I did. And I feel good about it. What I don’t feel is some of the ways it has been interpreted and how the message has been misinterpreted. “
The incident, which unfolded fairly quickly, began with some paragraphs Lovato posted on his Instagram Stories calling for the company’s “harmful messaging” and allowing “messy eating.”
“It’s very hard to order Froyo from @TheBiggChillOfficial when you have to pass tons of sugar-free cookies / other diet foods before you get to the counter,” Lovato wrote along with the hashtag #dietculturevulture. “PLEASE DO BETTER.”
The “Dancing With The Dark” singer also posted a direct exchange of messages between herself and The Bigg Chill’s Instagram account in which the store claims that “they are not vultures of dietary culture” and apologized for having- the offense. The store also defended itself on its Instagram stories, tagging Lovato and writing, “we carry items for diabetics, celiac disease, vegans, and of course we also have a lot of indulgent items.”
Still, Lovato refused to give in to that line of reasoning, sending the company that his service was “terrible” and explained that eating disorders are the second deadliest mental illness. [sic] overdose. ”Later, allegedly after the singer received some setbacks on social media, she suggested the company label her snacks as designated for people with dietary and vegan restrictions so as not to“ exclude one demographic catering to others ”.
While the singer’s claims that seeing the store’s dietary options triggered her fight with bulimia, much publicized, obviously cannot be disputed, Lovato received accusations on social media that her call to small female-owned business was not only impulsive and uninformed, but irresponsible considering it. aggressive online fan bases that have a history of sending death threats to people Lovato has had issues with.
This phenomenon, which is widespread in most communities of major pop stars, is really something that Lovato has addressed and condemned several times, unlike many of his famous colleagues, including Taylor Swift, who recently went expose Ginny and Georgia actress Antonia Gentry to hate online after publicly complaining about being the subject of a joke on the show, and Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, who called Pop diary host Morgan Stewart and “bloggers” in general on social media after she first accused of lip sync in 2019. In 2014, Lovato wrote a long message ordering her “Lovatics” to stop posting. death threats to comedian Kathy Griffin after responding to someone who asked her who the “biggest celebrity celebrity” was on social media with her name. (A year later, in an interview with Ryan Seacrest, Griffin stated that law enforcement had to intervene).
More recently, Lovato addressed the issue with insight in his YouTube documentary series Demi Lovato: Dancing with the devil which premiered in March. In the third episode, his friend and former creative director Dani Vitale revealed that he received thousands of hate messages and death threats daily after fans accused him of taking drugs in Lovato before suffering a near-fatal overdose in 2018. Lovato acknowledged that while he has “amazing” fans, they may be “offline” and “don’t always have all the information.”
“Lovato acknowledged that while he has “amazing” fans, they may be “offline” and “don’t always have all the information.””
Journalist Rachel Brodsky, who asked pop stars like Swift, Grande and Lana Del Rey to address the culture of harassment and doxxing among her online fan bases in an article for The Independent, called this moment of Lovato’s docuseries “frustratingly rare.” It is disappointing, then, that this awareness shown about the damage his fans can cause with or without his request did not extend to his own actions over the weekend, presumably because he was able to focus his call on the Its 102 million Instagram followers act of service to people suffering from eating disorders despite their poor execution.
But, as many have pointed out on social media, including employees of The Bigg Chill, the manufacture and sale of sugar-free foods is not intrinsically fatphobic or encourages unhealthy eating, given that there are a considerable number of consumers. with medical conditions that make you eat. dangerous or even deadly sugar. In addition, someone’s decision to opt for a sugar-free snack may be motivated by a handful of other factors that don’t include having an unhealthy relationship with food, such as a taste preference, maintaining a balanced diet, dental health or just not wanting it. they exceed the recommended daily sugar intake, which all humans, regardless of our size, should keep in mind. There is also the obvious fact that dietary foods and beverages are sold at virtually any food-selling establishment, especially grocery stores and department stores, and are not universally triggering for people suffering from an eating disorder.
Even when Lovato defended himself on Monday before apologizing by posting a 5-year-old Instagram photo of The Bigg Chill of an Eat Me, Guilt Free cookie screen (The Bigg Chill told TMZ they no longer sell this product), their criticisms would have been a little better directed directly at the probably problematic marketing of the snack brand rather than the single-location business that is likely to be based, in part, on partnerships with other companies. Even then, a culture that makes physical size a moral issue and encourages women to be thinner is better than it can be attributed to a brand, especially in a day and age when almost everyone Famous influencers advertise diet smoothies and detox teas and these quick results products can mislead consumers by making improper use of positive, health-based body messaging.
Given the number of notable failures in Lovato’s crusade over the weekend, releasing a deep apology to start the whole incident would seem like an obvious route to follow, Ariana Grande when she disagreed with a local donut shop in 2015 But Lovato still maintained a fair stance, expressing interest in working with The Bigg Chill “to help align messaging to where [she] feel[s] to enter with security ”. Like many celebrities accustomed to having a privileged life and people who adhere to all their requests, they still do not understand that a business aimed at a wide variety of customers is not required to meet their personal needs, especially when they have the resources. needed to have anything. food you want to deliver to a personal assistant or you can just go to another frozen yogurt store where there is no dietary food.
In any case, Lovato’s latest trial, however distracting from the most important news, shows that not everyone suffering from mental illness or oppressive beauty standards has the tools to be an effective voice for people with this shared experience.