Demi Lovato took a dig at Instagram for allowing a fat-shaming ad for a mobile app “Game of Sultans” that features two female characters, one called “obese”, with another dubbed “pretty”.
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Lovato, who herself suffered from bulimia in the past, shared several Insta stories, to slam the clear message from the ad suggesting that only thin women can be considered pretty.
“This is absolutely harmful to anyone who is easily influenced by societal pressures put on us from the diet culture to constantly be losing weight in a word that teaches us to equate our value and worth with the way we look and especially anyone in recovery from an eating disorder. Especially when eating disorders are all about ‘control’”, she wrote.
In another story she directly called out the photo-sharing platform for allowing the “disgusting” ad to emerge on users’ feeds:
“Please Instagram, keep this bullsh*t off mine and other’s feeds who could easily be effected [sic] by this disgusting advertisement. With how aware people are becoming of mental health and mental illness, I expect you guys to know better by allowing this advertisement to be on your app. And shame on the game”.
After Lovato tweeted about her anti-fat-shaming rant, her fans flooded social media, praising her for speaking out and shedding light on the internet’s pernicious influence on people’s self-esteem:
Some, however, said that it’s time to stop telling young women and girls that being obese is pretty:
Instagram apologised and told TMZ that the advertisement violated its terms and would be removed.
“We’re sorry. This ad was approved by mistake. We reviewed it again and removed it from future delivery in people’s feeds”.
For many years, Lovato has been open about her fight to overcome bulimia, and has been a vocal supporter for those struggling with eating disorders.