Demi Lovato apologizes after frozen yogurt feud

Demi Lovato has apologized for losing her cool over the messaging at The Bigg Chill frozen yogurt shop. Over the weekend, the singer accused the Los Angeles shop of playing into diet culture and urged them to do better, but she’s walking it back after some followers accused her of using her social media clout to go after a small business.

The “I Love Me” singer apologized in an Instagram Live video on April 19, revealing that it was never her intention to attack a small business, only to raise awareness over diet culture and harmful branding. Lovato explained that as someone who has struggled with an eating disorder, she felt extremely triggered walking into the shop over the weekend and coming face-to-face with certain messaging. However, as some fans and followers pointed out, the shop also caters to diabetics, vegans and other people with food sensitivities, which is why the shop carries those products.

“When I messaged this fro-yo place originally I wanted to make a point and I wanted to call out behaviours or branding things that didn’t sit right with me,” Lovato said. “Because the truth of the matter, as someone that deals with an eating disorder—is in recovery from an eating disorder—I still to this day have a hard time walking into a fro-yo shop, ordering yogurt, and being content with it and keeping it down. I know that seems like not a huge deal to a lot of people but for me it is.”

The performer then explained that the messaging wasn’t clear to her, and so she may have jumped to conclusions. She also offered to work with the shop to try and make the messaging more clear for future customers so that anyone who is potentially dealing with an eating disorder can feel comfortable and safe entering the shop.

“Someone once told me, ‘You can be a celebrity and get things right every day of your life, but you get it wrong one day and that’s what people focus on,’” Lovato continued. “And that’s what people are focusing on today, and that’s okay. Because tomorrow, I’m still gonna live my truth, I’m still going to get up and meditate and do what I need to do to stay centered” she added. “I just want to help continue to help make this world a better place, and if I upset some people I’m so sorry. I will listen and try to understand in how I can be a better support for all communities—not just people with eating disorders.”

In the eight-plus-minute video, Lovato also explained that frozen yogurt is one of the foods she has had a particularly hard time with in the past. She also explained that with drugs, she can walk away and potentially never touch them again in her life. With food however, it’s different because she has to eat three times a day. The singer then wrapped her apology with another offer to work with the store.

“My intentions were not to come in and bully a small business—that was not it. I walked in, was so triggered that I left without fro-yo. It made me really sad. That’s all it was and I wanted to talk about that,” she added. “I’m genuinely sorry that people took it the wrong way, I just get really passionate. Y’all know me, I’m pretty feisty and sometimes my emotions get the best of me. It’s never coming out of a place of hate, it’s always coming out of a place of love and trying to lift people up.”

At time of press The Bigg Chill has not responded to Lovato’s apology, but the shop did DM her previously after she first called them out. Lovato shared the conversations, which she initiated after her experience there, on her Instagram stories. “You have to walk past tons of sugar free cookies/other diet foods before you get to the counter. Do better please," she wrote alongside the hashtag #DietCultureVultures. “We are not diet vultures,” the shop wrote back. “We cater to all of our customers['] needs for the past 36 years. We are sorry you found this offensive.”

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