Demi Lovato has hit out at a “fat-shaming” advert on Instagram and said similar posts can be “absolutely harmful” to anyone suffering with an eating disorder.
The pop star shared a picture of the offending video game advert to her Instagram story, which showed two animated women, one labelled ‘pretty’ and the other ‘obese’.
Lovato, 26, has battled an eating disorder in the past and said the advert was “disgusting”.
She wrote: “Why is this fat shaming bullshit on my feed? So many things wrong with this ad. 1. You can be ‘pretty’ at any weight.
“This is absolutely harmful to anyone who is easily influenced by societal pressures put on us from the 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.
“Especially when eating disorders are all about ‘control.’”
Lovato, who said she was “grateful to be alive” after suffering a suspected overdose in July last year, demanded Instagram remove the “disgusting advertisement”.
She added: “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.”
Instagram later apologised and removed the advert.