DDespite the litany of social media controversies involving A-list celebrities targeting journalists, television writers and non-celebrities – and the appropriate discourse about these power dynamics – in recent years, celebrities still exert their influence irresponsibly for those more absurd complaints.
The most recent is an incident involving Demi Lovato and a popular frozen yogurt store in Los Angeles called The Bigg Chill. After calling the business on Instagram on Sunday to display and sell sugar-free cookies and other dietary foods, the former Disney star explains her role in the dramatic saga after receiving an online reaction.
“I got into a situation that didn’t go well with me,” Lovato said in an Instagram video on Monday. “My intuition said he was talking about it, so I did. And I feel good about it. What I don’t feel is part of the way it was interpreted and the way the message went wrong. “
The incident, which took place fairly quickly, began with a few paragraphs Lovato posted his Instagram Stories saying the company’s “harmful messages” and allowing “messy eating.”
“It’s extremely difficult to order Froyo from @TheBiggChillOfficial when you have to skip tons of sugar-free cakes / 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 her and The Bigg Chill’s Instagram account, in which the store claims that “there are no eagles of dietary culture” and apologized for that he offended her. The store also defended itself on Instagram Stories, tagging Lovato and writing: “We carry items for diabetics, celiac disease, vegans and, of course, we have many indulgent items.”
However, Lovato refused to give in to this reasoning, telling the company that their service was “terrible” and explaining that eating disorders were the second most deadly mental illness “after opium. [sic] overdose. “Later, probably after the singer received some push on social networks, she suggested the company label the snacks as designated for people with dietary restrictions and for vegans so as not to” exclude a demographic providing services for others. “
While the singer’s claims that seeing the store’s dietary options triggered her highly publicized fight against bulimia, obviously cannot be disputed, Lovato received accusations on social media that the appeal to small businesses owned by women was not only impulsive and uninformed, but irresponsible, given an aggressive online fan base that has a history of sending death threats to individuals Lovato has discussed.
This phenomenon – which is ubiquitous among most stan communities of great pop stars – is actually something Lovato has approached and condemned several times, unlike many of her famous colleagues, including Taylor Swift, who recently exhibited Ginny and Georgia actress Antonia Gentry hated online after publicly complaining that she was the subject of a joke on the show and Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, who shouted Daily Pop host Morgan Stewart and “bloggers” in general on social media, after she accused the first of lip-syncing in 2019. In 2014, Lovato wrote a long message instructing “Lovaticii” not to send threats to the death of comedian Kathy Griffin after answering someone who asked her who is “the biggest shower of celebrity” on social networks with her name. (A year later, in an interview with Ryan Seacrest, Griffin argued that law enforcement needs to get involved.)
Most recently, Lovato approached the issue with understanding in her YouTube documentary series Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil which premiered in March. In the third episode, her friend and former creative director Dani Vitale revealed that she received thousands of ugly messages and death threats every day, after fans accused her of taking Lovato drugs before suffering an overdose. almost fatal in 2018. Lovato acknowledged that although he has “amazing” fans, they can be “offline” and “don’t always have all the information.”
“Lovato acknowledged that although he has “amazing” fans, they may be “offline” and “don’t always have all the information.””
Journalist Rachel Brodsky, who called on pop stars such as Swift, Grande and Lana Del Rey to address the culture of harassment and doxxing among their online fan base in an article for The independent, called this moment in Lovato’s docuseries “rarely frustrating.” It is disappointing then that this awareness of the harm that her fans are able to cause with or without her request did not extend to her own actions over the weekend, probably because she managed to frame her appeal to the 102 million of his Instagram followers act of service for people suffering from eating disorders, despite how clumsy he was executed.
But, as many have pointed out on social media, including employees at The Bigg Chill, making and selling sugar-free foods is not inherently fatphobic, nor does it encourage unhealthy eating, given that there are a substantial number of consumers with the condition. medical practices that make sugar consumption dangerous or even fatal. In addition, one’s decision to opt for a sugar-free snack may be motivated by a handful of other factors that do not include an unhealthy relationship with food, such as taste preference, maintaining a balanced diet, dental health, or simply not wanting to exceeds the recommended daily intake of sugar, which all human beings, regardless of our size, must take into account. There is also the obvious fact that dietary foods and beverages are sold in virtually any unit that sells food, especially food and department stores, and are not a universal trigger for people suffering from a messy diet.
Even when Lovato defended himself on Monday, before apologizing, posting a 5-year-old photo on The Bigg Chill’s Instagram with a cookie display Eat Me, Guilt Free (The Bigg Chill told TMZ that no more sell that product), her criticism would have been slightly better directed directly at the brand’s likely problematic snack marketing, rather than the one-location business that is most likely based in part on partnerships with other companies. Even then, a culture that makes the physical dimension a moral issue and encourages women to be thinner is better cannot be attributed to a single brand, especially in a day and age when almost every celebrity influencer promotes Diet shakes and detox teas and these quick results products are able to deceive consumers through the misuse of positive and healthy messages of the body.
Considering the number of defects visible in Lovato’s weekend crusade, issuing a detailed apology for initiating the entire incident would seem like an obvious path to follow, for Ariana Grande when she found herself in conflict with a local donut shop in 2015. But Lovato still maintained an upright position, expressing interest in working with The Bigg Chill “to help align messages to where [she] sense[s] entering there safely. “Like many ordinary celebrities with a privileged life and people who comply with every request, she fails to understand that a business that targets a variety of customers is not required to adhere to her personal needs, especially when she has the resources to have any food you want delivered by a personal assistant or you can simply go to another frozen yogurt store where diet foods are not on display.
In any case, Lovato’s latest gap, no matter how fun it has been from the major news, shows that not everyone who suffers from mental illness or oppressive beauty standards has the tools to be an effective voice for people with that experience. common.