Demi Lovato is responding to recent backlash.
On Sunday, June 3, 2018, the “Sorry Not Sorry” singer took to social media after being accused of trivializing sexual assault in a controversial tweet.
During a Twitter Q&A session with her followers, Lovato was asked about the funniest prank she ever pulled on her bodyguard. “I hired a lady of the night in Vegas and sent her to Max’s hotel room to surprise him,” she responded in a since-deleted tweet (via Entertainment Tonight). “She walked into his room without permission and grabbed him in his ‘area’ and he freaked the f**k out hahahahaha.”
However, several social media users didn’t find the prank, in which a man was touched inappropriately by a woman without his consent, to be a laughing matter at all, and swiftly criticized the 25-year-old pop star.
“I don’t think you understand how men are conditioned to normalize sexual assault,” one person wrote. “They are always expected to just laugh it off and if they ever say anything they’re told to get over it. If it was a woman, a hashtag would already be trending.”
Meanwhile, another person tweeted, “Take responsibility for your actions. Sexual assault is not a joke and it’s not funny.”
At first, Lovato went on the defense. “I swear I could tweet something about craving jelly beans and it would offend someone,” she wrote, later adding, “For all of those coming at me rn, listen to the lyrics of Warrior and maybe you’ll have more compassion for someone who made a simple mistake. Of all people I know about sexual abuse. You don’t have to educate me.”
However, she eventually issued an apology, writing, “So sorry if anyone was offended ?.”
As Nicki Swift previously reported, Lovato has spoken out against sexual misconduct in recent years. In addition to publicly supporting Kesha amid her legal battle with Dr. Luke, the “Skyscraper” singer slammed Time magazine in December 2017 for naming President Donald Trump, who has been accused of sexual harassment and assault by multiple women, as its runner-up for Person of the Year.
As its actual POTY, the magazine had chosen a number of people who had spoken out against sexual abuse amid the #MeToo movement. In series of tweets at the time, Lovato wrote, “@TIME mag – very disappointed in your hypocrisy and disrespect toward the women on your cover.”
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