Demi Lovato accepted a free trip to Israel in exchange for posting about the trip on social media (Photo: Ashton Noe/FlickrCommons)
Harun Nasrullah
US pop star Demi Lovato was forced to apologise to her 74 million Instagram followers for accepting a free trip to Israel after facing backlash for posting about her vacation to the country on Instagram.
The 27-year old singer made no mention of the Israel-Palestine conflict in a series of Instagram photos shared on October 2, in which she detailed her experience of being baptised in the Jordan River as well as visiting the Western Wall, the country’s Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem and the disability organisation Shalva.
Many on social media believed Lovato was giving support to the discriminatory oppressive policies of the Israeli Government against the Palestinian people despite, her recent plea that it was “spiritual experience for me, not a political statement.”
After disabling the comments on her account, Lovato explained she accepted the trip ‘in exchange for a few posts’ on social media. ‘No one told me there would be anything wrong with going or that I could possibly be offending anyone,’ she wrote on Instagram Stories.
‘With that being said, I’m sorry if I 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.’
Lovato explained she was advised not to speak out on the issue. ‘Now I realize [sic] 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.’ She concluded: ‘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.’
