Following 21 Savage's ICE arrest on Sunday, many artists and celebrities took to social media to comment on the rapper's possible deportation. However, in a since-deleted tweet on her now-deactivated account, Demi Lovato admitted that 21 Savage's memes were her favorite part of the Super Bowl, which is when celebrities and fans alike criticized the singer for laughing at the rapper's expense.
Offset, Sid the Kid, and Wale all took aim at Lovato following her tweet, which then prompted the singer to backtrack on her previous statement and admit to hating Twitter for this reason. Lil Yachty tweeted then deleted, "Fuck Demi Lovato n***a #21." Mia Khalifa brought up Lovato's issues with drug addiction, which mirrored many of the hate-fueled comments about drugs other people used to drag the singer.
21 Savage's co-manager, Kei Henderson, also commented on Demi's remark, noting that he and Savage had privately expressed sympathy for the singer while she was battling her own demons. "Damn. We was def Demi Lovato fans. When she was going through her shit, I remember being on the tour bus and Savage said I hope she make it through that shit. People r weird bro," Henderson wrote on Twitter.
Demi took to Instagram stories to try to explain her side.
She wrapped up with a direct request to Wale: "Lastly, I wasn’t making fun on [sic] anything having to do with deportation or even anything against him. I was laughing at who the fuck knew 21 was British? Literally no one. That’s it. It doesn’t go deeper than that. I’m sorry if I upset people truly. Yo @wale if you wanna talk, then answer my dms.”
Although Demi didn't display support for 21, she certainly wasn't the first person to joke about his imprisonment. Many people then pointed out the hypocrisy in not silencing others when they were similarly laughing about 21's situation.
In light of the criticism she received, Lovato deactivated her Twitter, which only ramped up her haters.