Demi Lovato says Lady Gaga glamorized eating disorders on stage at SXSW
Last week while performing at SXSW Lady Gaga had a young artist purposefully vomit on her twice during her act. Gaga has been open about her struggles with eating disorders, but Demi Lovato thinks having someone throw up on her onstage wasn’t a helpful image for people who suffer from eating disorders.
Demi herself had dealt with eating disorders, and feels that what Gaga did wasn’t art, but instead glamorized eating disorders. Demi isn’t randomly saying this, she has devoted a huge part of her career to advocating for awareness and help for eating disorders an mental illness.
Here are her:impassioned tweets
“Sad… As if we didn’t have enough people glamorizing eat disorders already. Bottom line, it’s not “cool” or “artsy” at all.
Would you let someone bring a needle and shoot up on you? Addiction is addiction.
It’s not “shade” and it’s not “hate”. But someone has to come forward and say it and I’ll take the heat for it.
So it’s cool if I do a speech about self-harm and then proceed to watch someone cut themselves on my stage? No. That doesn’t make it OKAY RT @kingsleyyy: @ddlovato Gaga herself struggled with an eating disorder. She gave a moving speech BEFORE her performance & I highly doubt her intention.
Putting the word ART in it isn’t a free card to do whatever you want without consequences. RT @kingsleyyy: @ddlovato That wasn’t the POINT! The girl was an ARTIST: http://t.co/A2RjEXrkIC
All I’m saying is, artists in pop culture have influence on people.. Some of which are people who aren’t capable of understanding the art that is that is expressed by their idols. Young people who are struggling to figure out their identities are seriously influenced by the things they see their idols do. Whether we intend to or not, artists influence people of ALL ages and unfortunately what people see, people do. Hair, clothes and sometimes misinterpreting things, therefore using the excuse of art to engage in self-destructive behaviors. I’ve been through a shit ton.. More than any of you know, and I sympathize for everyone’s struggle. But people emulate what they see celebrities do or let happen. And that’s why I had to say something.. to let the people who don’t understand the art in it, that bulimia isn’t cool, and it won’t get you on stage with your favorite artist. I can’t NOT say anything because I stand up for what I believe in and speak out about mental illnesses. You’re right, nobody asked my opinion but pop culture is a huge part in leading our generation, we have to continue to strive to change the world. No hate, no shade, just love.
Ps. I’m still a little monster myself. ”
What do you think? Does Demi have a point, or was Lady Gaga and artist Millie Brown’s performance thought-provoking art?
Image: Getty
