CULTURE

Demi Lovato Deletes Her Twitter Account After Being Criticized for Posting 21 Savage Memes

She faced backlash after posting memes about 21 Savage's alleged British nationality.


2018 Billboard Music Awards
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Only a few weeks after returning to the platform following an apparent overdose last summer, Demi Lovato has deleted her entire Twitter account. She deactivated the page on Sunday evening, amid backlash from Twitter users after she shared memes poking fun at rapper 21 Savage‘s alleged British nationality.

On Sunday, after news broke that 21 Savage, who has long claimed to have grown up in Atlanta, had been arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for allegedly overstaying his U.K. visa by more than a decade, social media flooded with a mixture of sympathetic messages calling for support for the rapper and memes making light of the situation. Lovato joined in on the latter, reposting memes making light of 21 Savage’s apparent British heritage and tweeting, “So far 21 savage memes have been my favorite part of the Super Bowl.”

Lovato was quickly called out for her tweets: While some of 21 Savage’s famous friends, including Offset and Wale, chastised those, like Lovato, who were turning a serious legal situation into memes, many other Twitter users went further, firing back with unrelated and inappropriate comments about Lovato’s overdose. “If you’re gonna come at me for making a joke, try coming at me with some original not involving drugs,” she tweeted, then added, “Fuck Twitter. This is why I don’t tweet anymore.”

Lovato discussed the situation further in her Instagram Story (which is still active, for now). After sharing one of the memes she had tweeted about, as well as several screenshots of the tasteless replies she’d received about her overdose, she wrote, “Wasn’t laughing at anyone getting deported. I know that’s not a joke..not have I EVER laughed at that.” She continued, “Sorry if I offended anyone. But it’s no excuse to laugh at someone’s addiction let alone their OD.” In another post, she apologized again and tagged Wale, writing, “If you wanna talk, then answer my dms.”

Instagram/ddlovato
Instagram/ddlovato
Instagram/ddlovato
Instagram/ddlovato

The singer has been laying low on social media since her July overdose, reappearing only sporadically in recent months to celebrate special occasions like election day, friends’ weddings, and, just over a week ago, reaching six months of sobriety. Next weekend marks yet another exciting moment for Lovato, as she’s nominated for a Grammy for her collaboration with Christina Aguilera, “Fall in Line,” and could make her first public appearance since her hospitalization at Sunday’s ceremony.

Related: Demi Lovato Breaks Silence on Her Overdose: “I Am Sober and Grateful to Be Alive”