Demi Lovato took to social media to call out a local Los Angeles frozen yogurt shop for
selling “diet” options, and now the internet has a lot to say about all this.
Let’s get into it!
Over the years, Demi Lovato has been open and honest with fans about her struggles with
eating disorders.
Most recently, in her docu-series Dancing With The Devil, she detailed how her eating
disorder played a role in her near fatal overdose.
Before we get into what Demi said, I just wanted to issue a trigger warning that we
will be discussing serious topics like disordered eating in this video, so please only continue
watching if you feel comfortable doing so.
“I’m just not feeling so comfortable in my body right now cause I’ve stopped being
so strict with food so I could get more peace with it, rather than like living my life in
a diet.”
And now, a few weeks after her doc dropped, Demi just got real with fans on her Instagram
stories about an experience at an LA yogurt shop that could be triggering or harmful to
those who struggle with an eating disorder.
Demi shared that she was frustrated to see the shop carry "diet foods," like sugar-free
cookies, which she sees as helping to promote a problematic diet culture.
Demi wrote quote, “Finding it extremely hard to order froyo from The Bigg Chill when
you have to walk past tons of sugar-free cookies/other diet foods before you get to the counter.
Do better please.”
This experience inspired Demi to launch the hashtag #DietCultureVultures and she plans
to use it to call out quote "harmful messaging from brands or companies that perpetuate a
society that not only enables but praises disordered eating.”
Not long after Demi posted, The Bigg Chill, a local LA fro-yo spot that’s been in business
for 36 years, responded to Demi in her DMs, which she published.
They explained they have these so called “diet” foods as alternatives for diabetics, people
with Celiac disease, vegans, and more.
The Bigg Chill wrote “We are not diet vultures.
We cater to all of our customers' needs for the past 36 years.
We are sorry you found this offensive.”
But Demi didn’t stop there, in her post of the DMs she wrote “Since y’all wanna
keep this going @ The Bigg Chill Official” and shared her follow up message to them.
In the message, Demi wrote that the experience was “triggering and awful” and that “You
can carry things for other people while also caring for another percentage of your customers
who struggle DAILY just to even step foot in your store.”
She asked the store to find a more inviting way to create an environment for people with
a variety of needs including eating disorders.
Demi wrote “don’t make excuses, just do better.”
And she finished her posts with some suggestions, like having some clear labels saying quote,
“maybe it would help if you made it more clear that the sugar free and vegans options
are for that.
Labeling the snacks for celiac or diabetes or vegans.
When it’s not super clear, the messaging gets confusing and being in LA it’s really
hard to distinguish diet culture vs health needs.”
And since Demi’s posts, fans have been taking to social media to react to all of this and
the internet is torn.
Some people agree with Demi, like this person who wrote quote, “These messages are so
damaging to people with eating disorders, this store advertises their products in a
very dirty way as ‘feel freely guilty’ ‘don't fight last night's candy binge.’”
This fan also added that quote “the problem is that this cookies are being sold by “guilt
free” not “sugar free” or “healthy cookies” , and it’s very triggering for
someone with an Ed such as binge eating, bulimia and more…”
And this person wrote “This is very common.
The bigger conversation is about how we’re made to feel guilt for eating anything that
isn’t considered good and “safe”.
Their website specifically uses the word ‘safe’ to describe their food.
And we shouldn't continue to normalize equating a cookie with ‘bad.’”
But others were upset that Demi called out a small business during the pandemic on her
massive platform.
These fans wish Demi would have contacted the business privately rather than dragging
them for her over 100 million followers to see.
This person wrote quote, “They are a small business with nearly 7k of followers on IG...
Why? doesn't she fight big corporations which are waaay more damaging to everyone?”
Another fan added that “this aint it... she could’ve taken some time to communicate
with the shop to gain better understanding about the situation BEFORE she publicly ‘called
them out’...”
And this person said “why would she use her power to destroy a small business?”
So clearly, people are divided on this issue.
Demi hasn’t spoken out again on the matter and The Bigg Chill also hasn’t posted anything
since Demi shared their messages.
We’ll keep you guys posted if we hear anything else about this.
But for now, if you want more on Demi Lovato, click right over here for another Clevver
News video.
Also, let us know down in the comments below what you think about Demi calling out the
fro-yo shop.
I’m your host Emile Ennis Jr., bye guys!