Demi Lovato Defends Herself After Backlash to Insensitive Prank

Demi Lovato at fabletics event
Ari Perilstein/Getty Images for Fabletics

The 25-year-old singer had been accused of trivializing sexual assault after posting details of a sexually charged prank.

Demi Lovato defended herself and then apologized on Sunday after she was accused of trivializing sexual assault in describing a sexually charged prank she said she played on her bodyguard.

The "Fall In Line" singer's original tweet came on March 6, when someone asked her about the funniest prank she's ever pulled.

"I hired a lady of the night in Vegas and sent her to Max's hotel room to surprise him," she replied in a now-deleted Twitter post. "She walked into his room without permission and grabbed him in his 'area' and he freaked the f*** out hahahahaha."

While many fans have defended her, a lot of folks weren't laughing at the alleged prank. Two representative examples:

"I don't think you understand how men are conditioned to normalize sexual assault," one person responded on Twitter. "They are always expected to just laugh it off and if they ever say anything they're told to get over it. If it was a woman, a hashtag would already be trending."

Another said: "Take responsibility for your actions. Sexual assault is not a joke and it’s not funny."

Lovato on Sunday took to Twitter, first to mock the criticism.

"I swear I could tweet something about craving jelly beans and it would offend someone," she wrote.

Then, she defended herself.

"For all of those coming at me rn, listen to the lyrics of Warrior and maybe you’ll have more compassion for someone who made a simple mistake," she wrote. "Of all people I know about sexual abuse. You don’t have to educate me."

A few minutes later, she apologized.

"So sorry if anyone was offended ?" she wrote.

Lovato has been outspoken on issues of sexual assault and abuse. She has publicly stood by Kesha after she accused music producer Dr. Luke of sexually assaulting her. Dr. Luke has denied all allegations, calling them "outright lies."

Lovato also heavily criticized Time magazine for having Donald Trump as it's runner-up "Person of the Year," calling it disrespectful and hypocritical to the actual "Person of the Year" -- several women who broke their silence on sexual assault allegations.

Lovato has also talked about experiencing abuse in her own past. For more on the singer's past struggles, watch the video below.

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