Demi Lovato selfie
photo: Instagram/ddlovato

Demi Lovato didn’t realize that a sponsored trip to Israel would cause backlash because of a long-time conflict between Israel and Palestine. 

The “Sorry Not Sorry” singer apologized for hurting fans who were offended by her comments admiring the country for its spiritual significance in her life. Lovato was baptized in the Jordan River on her trip, and visited some historic religious sites, a Holocaust museum, and a center for special needs children. 

Many thought by accepting the free trip she was furthering Israeli propaganda that diminishes the political conflict and ongoing genocide that is happening there. In her apology, she admits that she was ignorant of any issues, but that wasn't enough for some fans and fellow musicians who called her out for not acknowledging her privilege.

Lovato is a strong activist in the body-positivity movement and has spoken out about other issues, like bullying in the past, which is what makes this omission so hurtful to her loyal fans. Many have canceled their stan, and were giving her hate in the comments, so she turned them off. 

Demi Lovato accepted the opportunity to go to Israel for free in hopes of having a strong religious experience, but unfortunately it backfired. 

In her post she points out that she is an "American singer" with Jewish and Christian roots, which some thought was a way to point out that she's staying out of any internal conflict within the country. Many were upset with her for referring to the country as a "magical" place, because of the ongoing war and conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. 

Clearly, she didn't realize the backlash that would follow her post. She ended her caption with, "This trip has been so important for my well-being, my heart, and my soul. I’m grateful for the memories made and the opportunity to be able to fill the God-sized hole in my heart. Thank you for having me, Israel." 

Shortly after receiving hateful comments, she wrote an apology to her Instagram Story, and then promptly deleted it. 

Lovato shared a candid apology to her Stories despite her team reportedly advising her not to mention anything. Unfortunately, it didn't do much to stop the hate she received from followers, so she disabled comments on her posts too. 

One person on Twitter saved the Story and shared her message: 

"I'm extremely frustrated. I accepted a free trip to Israel in exchange for a few posts. No one told me there would be anything wrong with going or that I could possibly be offending anyone."

"With that being said, I'm sorry if I've hurt or offended anyone, that was not my intention. Sometimes people present you with opportunities and no one tells you the potential backlash you could face in return."

"This was meant to be a spiritual experience for me, NOT A POLITICAL STATEMENT, and now I realize it hurt people and for that I'm sorry. Sorry I'm not more educated, and sorry for thinking this trip was just a spiritual experience." 

"Going against all advice right now and apologizing because it feels right to me and I'd rather get in trouble for being authentic to myself, than staying quiet to please other people. I love my fans, all of them, from all over." 

Fans were definitely disappointed, and made it clear that Lovato should have known better. 

One fan shared Lovato's post and wrote how upset they were with the star. They tweeted, "This really disappointed me … Demi really should educate herself better on the conflict between Israel and Palestine, she’s walking on Palestinian ground."

Before going to any country, it would have been a good idea for the singer to update her knowledge of the political climate — especially if it was for a promoted post. 

One person shared Lovato's now-deleted replies to Twitter, and wrote about their disappointment in the celebrity. 

Lovato tried to explain herself in the comments of her posts before disabling the function on her Instagram. One fan pointed out the hypocrisy of Lovato supporting one Middle Eastern conflict — the crisis in Sudan — while remaining completely ignorant of another. 

They wrote, "Demi Lovato is on a whole other level of being arrogant. Sis had a blue icon on Insta for months showing support for Sudan, and now [she's] using the excuse of being an 'American singer' to act like you don’t have an opinion on Israel - Palestine conflict, to hide she’s a Zionist?"

Lovato also received backlash from fellow musicians like Zara Larsson, though she shared that her tweet wasn't directed specifically at Lovato. 

Larsson addressed celebrity privilege in not choosing sides when it's convenient. The singer wrote, "'I can't chose sides in politics' — yes you can, you just don't care, which automatically makes you a part of the oppressive side, ooop sorry, I don't make the rules." 

Then she clarified in a reply that her tweet was not directed toward Lovato specifically, "This is hands down not a post directed only to Demi, if that's what you're referring to, but more to all the people who think their option to be disengaged in politics is anything but privilege." 

For a brief summary of the conflict, Vox Media made a video that sums it up. 

The Palestine-Israel conflict has dated back about 100 years, and started over religion and land ownership. Over the course of the past century, it has grown more and more violent, with the persecution of the Palestinians at an all-time high. Ultimately, things are tumultuous, dangerous, and complicated.