Demi Lovato knows the ups and downs of fandom better than anyone. The 27-year-old singer got real about cancel culture during a new interview with Jameela Jamil.
“I’ve been canceled so many times, I can’t even count … the hashtag #DemiIsOverParty, that whole thing,” Lovato said on the Good Place star’s “I Weigh” podcast on Friday, April 24. “It just doesn’t even affect me anymore. One, it’s not real. I don’t think anyone was ever officially canceled, otherwise certain people wouldn’t have Grammys, wouldn’t have Oscars, certain people would be where they are in their positions.”
The Disney Channel alum went on to ask, “Where is the forgiveness culture?”
“There are some people, if you have used up your second and third chances with a certain topic, you’re canceled and you should stay canceled. But if you mess up and you apologize and come forward and say I’ve learned from this, then let that be an example for other people so they can change too,” Lovato said. “Cancel culture will not work unless people have some sort of mercy. You have to be able to do that. I think if it’s somebody who refuses to learn, just has the entitlement of I can never do any wrong and I can get away with this, then yeah … go ahead and cancel them.”
Lovato made headlines earlier this month after screenshots of her alleged private Instagram page leaked online. While the “Anyone” songstress has yet to publicly comment on the page, fans believe that she was throwing shade at former friend Selena Gomez through the alleged burner account.
The Camp Rock star recently confirmed that she was no longer friendly with Gomez, 27, during an interview with Harper’s Bazaar.
“When you grow up with somebody, you’re always going to have love for them. But I’m not friends with her,” Lovato said on April 14.
According to the magazine, Lovato paused when asked about Gomez’s supportive Instagram post after the Grammys in February.
“[The Instagram post] felt … I will always have love for her, and I wish everybody nothing but the best,” she concluded.
Lovato, who once had a very close relationship with the Jonas Brothers, added that Miley Cyrus is the only person she is in touch with from her Disney days.
“She’s awesome, and I love her to death and always will, always have,” Lovato said of Cyrus. “But I think she’s kind of the only one from that era that I still stay in touch with.”
Jamil, meanwhile, dealt with backlash of her own on Friday after Taylor Swift fans came for her for interviewing Lovato.
“I’m not being dragged into celebrity feuds. I’m 34. I’m not involved in any of these dynamics,” the actress tweeted. “I don’t care which of them dislike each other. I’m interviewing interesting humans sharing their unique mental health journeys that may help others to learn about. Demi’s episode is 👌.”
After a social media user pointed out she was friends with Swift, Jamil added, “I know and like all of these women separately. Their inter personal histories and relationships are not my fight/business. Not all humans have to get along. Not all women have to get along. It is not as black and white as the internet decides it is. Humans are very complicated.”
