Demi Lovato Calls Out ‘Fat Shaming’ Ad in Her Instagram Feed: ‘This Is Absolutely Harmful’

Demi Lovato is not happy with a “fat shaming” video game ad that appeared in her Instagram feed.

The 26-year-old singer called out Instagram and the makers of the Game of Sultans, a game app, on her Instagram story.

In the ad, there are two types of women — one “obese” and one “pretty.” Users appear to choose what the two women can eat, and feed the “obese” one a “controlled” diet of broccoli.

“Why is this fat shaming bulls— on my feed?” Lovato asked. “So many things wrong with this ad.”

Lovato circled the two labels for each woman, adding that “you can be ‘pretty’ at any weight.”


Demi Lovato/Instagram

“This is absolutely harmful to anyone who is easily influenced by societal pressures put on us by diet culture to constantly be losing weight in a world that teaches us to equate our value and worth with the way we look and especially anyone in recovery from an eating disorder,” she continued.

And Lovato, who is recovering from an eating disorder, pointed out that the idea of a “controlled” diet is particularly problematic to people with eating disorders because they’re “all about ‘control.’ “


Demi Lovato/Instagram

She ended her Instagram story with a plea to Instagram and Mechanist, the makers of the game.

Lovato continued: “So please Instagram, keep this bulls— off mine and others’ feeds who could easily be affected by this disgusting advertisement,” she wrote. “With how aware people are becoming of mental health and mental illnesses, I expect you guys to know better by allowing this advertisement to be allowed on your app. And shame on the game.”


Demi Lovato/Instagram

PEOPLE has contacted Instagram and Mechanist for comment. A rep for Instagram told TMZ that they’ve removed the ad, and added: “We’re sorry. This ad was approved by mistake. We reviewed it again and removed it from future delivery in people’s feeds.”

Kim Kardashian applauded Lovato’s stand.

Lovato opened up about her past eating disorder and her decision to give up dieting and “food shaming” herself last January. She told PEOPLE in June that she still deals with body shamers, but she feels “a lot more free.”

“There are some people who body shame me, and sometimes it’s difficult, but I say to myself, am I happy? and that’s the most important thing. And I want my fans to be happy too,” she said.

Lovato is back on social media after she was hospitalized for an overdose on July 24, and posting on occasion. This is the first time she’s mentioned body shaming since the incident, though her older sister Dallas, 30, defended Demi from online critics in December.

“To all the f—ing tabloids out there right now calling my sister fat, go f— yourself because she’s the most beautiful, strong, amazing person that I’ve ever met in my entire life,” Dallas said in an Instagram live video. “I’m sorry, my sister is beautiful, she’s alive, she’s conquering a lot of really hard s—. So. Bye.”

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