DEMI LOVATO IS after landing herself in hot water after she revealed that she played a rather weird prank on her bodyguard Max.
It all started when a fan asked her what the funniest prank she ever pulled on anyone was and in her response which has since been deleted she replied;
I hired a lady of the night in Vegas and sent her to Max’s hotel room to surpise him. She walked into his room without permission and grabbed him in his ‘area’ and he freaked the f**k out hahahahah.
Understandably people thought this was pretty inappropriate and tone deaf given the era of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movement and the fact that her bodyguard was touched without his consent.
💀 Demi Lovato was really out here dragging Taylor Swift for donating money instead of taking to social media(as if Taylor wasn't embroiled in her own sexual assult lawsuit), only for Demi to take to social media & brag about using money to facilitate sexual assault as a "prank". pic.twitter.com/g8aPdw1Cc8
— Rosalinde Antindi (@NewRosalinde_A) June 3, 2018
Encouraging sexual assault? That’s fucking funny? As someone who tries to act like she’s an advocate for mental illness you’re treating a serious issue- one that triggers NUMEROUS people- as a joke. This isn’t a prank, this is assault
— ronni // 54 (@iwishtaywould) June 3, 2018
Acceptable just because the victim was a man. I won’t stand behind double standards that HARM others. Even if Demi’s friend found this joke funny, it’s disgusting that she would advocate for it. Almost like an encouragement telling her fans this kind of action is okay. ITS NOT OK
— ronni // 54 (@iwishtaywould) June 3, 2018
Demi seemed to think this was a slight bit of an overreaction at first.
I swear I could tweet something about craving jelly beans and it would offend someone.
— Demi Lovato (@ddlovato) June 3, 2018
But then amid the backlash she deleted the original tweet and issued an apology. Well she sort of apologised.
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.
— Demi Lovato (@ddlovato) June 3, 2018
So sorry if anyone was offended 😔
— Demi Lovato (@ddlovato) June 3, 2018
More of a ‘sorry that you were offended for what I did’ rather than a ‘sorry I realise what I did was wrong and want to apologise’.
The waters were then muddied even further when the bodyguard Max tweeted that he wasn’t offended by the prank at all.
qReally! You guys all need to ‘Grow Up’! It was a joke and a fun prank from someone whose incredible to work for and with. And does everything she can for her fans, family and friends. Love you @ddlovato
— Max (@2Maxx22) June 3, 2018
While it seems like her bodyguard was ok with what happened, the whole ‘prank’ seems really off and quite inappropriate. If Demi isn’t willing to accept responsibility for it or can’t see how what she did might be inappropriate then there’s a bigger issue at hand here.
The best thing here would be to admit that you’re wrong and apologise rather than making fun of some of the valid backlash that she received.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in the article above please contact:
Helplines:
- Dublin Rape Crisis Centre: 1800 77 8888
- Women’s Aid: 1800 341 900
