A Complete Breakdown Of The Drama Between Demi Lovato And That Frozen Yogurt Shop
There is some major drama going down between Demi Lovato and a Los Angeles frozen yogurt shop, and we’re here
Lillie Gissen
There is some major drama going down between Demi Lovato and a Los Angeles frozen yogurt shop, and we’re here to break it all down for you. Yep, the singer is feuding with the froyo place, which is called The Bigg Chill, after she visited and noticed they had a lot of “sugar free cookies” and “diet foods” on display.
Demi Lovato Was Not Pleased With Some Of The Froyo Place’s Products
For those who don’t know, Lovato used to suffer from an eating disorder, and she felt the situation was very triggering for her. So she took to her Instagram Stories to call them out.
“Finding it extremely hard to order froyo from @TheBiggChillOfficial when you have to walk past tons of sugar free cookies/other diet foods before you get to the counter. Do better please. #DietCultureVultures,” she wrote. “I think I’m gonna make a hashtag a thing. I will be calling harmful messaging from brands or companies that perpetuate a society that not only enables but praises disordered eating.”
But according to the shop, their products weren’t intended for people who were dieting, but rather, for people who couldn’t eat sugar due to health reasons.
“We carry items for Diabetics, Celiac disease, Vegan and of course have many indulgent items as well,” they responded on their Stories.
But Lovato didn’t back down. After that, the former Disney star shared a screenshot of a private conversation she had with the store.
“We are not diet vultures. We cater to all of our customer need for the past 36 years. We are sorry you found this offensive,” they wrote to Lovato, to which she responded, “Not just that. The whole experience was triggering and awful. You can carry things for other people while also caring for another percentage of your customers who struggle daily just to even step foot in your store. You can find a way to provide an inviting environment for all people with different needs. Including eating disorders — one of the deadliest mental illnesses only second to opioid overdoses. Don’t make excuses, just do better.”
Lovato also shared a snap of an old Instagram post from the shop, which has now been taken down. It showed some high-protein cookies that said, “Eat me guilt free” on them.
“This screams diet culture, and I won’t be gaslit by the media or anyone else that says otherwise,” she captioned it. “I don’t need to feel ‘guilt free’ about eating anything. This was what I was talking about and this is directly from their own page.”
According to screenshots obtained by TMZ, they responded and claimed that they don’t sell those cookies anymore and that the post was from actually 2016.
“We do not carry this company’s products anymore and have not in years. We only started carrying them because our customers wanted protein cookies,” they said.
But Lovato claimed they had similar cookies by a different company in their shop.
“So you don’t carry the Lenny and Larry cookies that scream the exact same thing? Pretty sure I saw every flavor there. Don’t keep going with this. You don’t want to mess with me. You’re in the wrong and the customer is always right. You already know this, listen to your customers and do better. And if it’s still on your site then guess what — YOU’RE STILL SUPPORTING IT.”
She also added some suggestions for how The Bigg Chill could do better.
“I was thinking, maybe it would help if you made it more clear that the sugar free options and vegan options are for [health needs]. Labeling the snacks for celiac or diabetes or vegans,” she wrote to the froyo place in another set of messages. “When it’s not super clear, the messaging gets confusing and being in LA it’s really hard to distinguish diet culture vs health needs. I think clearer messaging would be more beneficial for everyone. You aren’t wrong for catering to many different needs but it’s about not excluding one demographic to cater to others.”
Some People Slammed Demi Lovato For Her Comments
After the drama went down, some people were on Lovato’s side, but others slammed her for attacking a small business. Real Housewives of New York City star Leah McSweeney even got involved, and she blasted the “Tell Me You Love Me” songstress for her comments.
“Demi Lovato should be ashamed of herself for using her platform of 102 million people following her on Instagram to drag a frozen yogurt spot because she’s mad that they sell diet frozen yogurt and sugar-free options because that triggers her,” she said in a series of videos posted to her Instagram Stories. “Therefore, they should just be harassed and go out of business. What the f**k? I mean, I’m sorry that she had to deal with an eating disorder. That’s terrible. But does that mean that we have to stop offering people sugar-free options for things? What about people who just don’t want to f**king eat regular ice cream and want to eat some sugar-free frozen yogurt? I want that s**t sometimes.”
The reality star added, “The ultimate privilege is to just use your platform with millions and millions of people to drag a f**king business with 6,000 followers on Instagram who have been doing their thing since the ’80s. This story just f**king irks me. It’s absolutely disgusting.”
Piers Morgan also spoke out about the situation. And he called Lovato “dumb” and “deluded.”
“My new @DailyMail column is about dumb, deluded @ddlovato and her vile attempt to bully, shame and ruin my favorite frozen yoghurt store. Posting soon,” he tweeted. “Not a day goes by without some celebrity somewhere claiming to feel ‘triggered’ by something, mainly in an attempt to weaponize their victimhood, raise their profile and make money. If this sounds unduly cynical of me, then permit me to borrow the words of Ms Lovato’s own smash hit: ‘Sorry, Not Sorry.’”
Jameela Jamil took the Camp Rock alum’s side on the matter. She wrote on her Stories, “OK, I want to try to avoid making the story bigger than it already is. But if an eating disorder advocate says she sees products that are positioned as guilt free, and it is potentially triggering, that doesn’t mean she’s too stupid to remember that diabetics exist. It just means that we need to change the marketing of products that are for people’s medical needs. That’s all @ddlovato was asking for. It doesn’t make her a monster. It doesn’t mean she disregards people’s illnesses. She’s just one of few celebrities reminding us to look out for mental illness. Guilt free is diet culture terminology.”
Demi Lovato Posted A Public Apology
After receiving a lot of backlash online, the star posted a lengthy video to her Instagram, where she apologized to The Bigg Chill.
“I’m genuinely sorry that people took it the wrong way. I just get really passionate,” she said in the clip. “When I messaged this froyo place, originally I wanted to make a point, and I wanted to call out behaviors or branding things that didn’t sit right with me. As someone who deals with an eating disorder and is in recovery from an eating disorder, I still to this day have a hard time walking into a froyo shop, ordering yogurt and being content with it and keeping it down.”
She also admitted that she didn’t realize that the sugar-free foods were for people with health problems.
“I didn’t know that,” she explained. “Because it wasn’t clear, I definitely jumped to conclusions and probably shouldn’t have gone about this the way that I have, but I’m willing to talk to this froyo shop to help get the messaging right. I know that people struggle with froyo with eating disorders. That’s why I’m super sensitive when I walk into a froyo place and I see diet stuff.”
She continued, “The thing about overcoming my addictions — my drug addictions — I can walk away from that and never touch it again for the rest of my life. But I have to eat three times a day … I left that yogurt store and didn’t get the yogurt that I wanted. And then I had a hard time the rest of the weekend, to be totally transparent. I walked into a situation that didn’t sit right with me, my intuition said speak up about this, so I did. And I feel good about that. What I don’t feel good about is some of the way it’s been interpreted and how the message has gotten misconstrued.”
She also wanted the world to know that her comments did not come “from a place of hate.”
“I’m genuinely sorry that people took it the wrong way. I just get really passionate,” she concluded. “It’s never coming out of a place of hate, it’s always coming out of a place of love and trying to lift people up. I understand that didn’t lift the froyo place up, but I’m upset and that’s all that that was. People with eating disorders should be able to go in and feel safe wherever they go to eat. That’s all I’m asking. If we can make this environment safer for everyone, including people that are in recovery from an eating disorder and just want a little froyo, if we can do that while also giving froyo to vegans and people with diabetes, let’s go.”
The Froyo Shop Didn’t Accept Her Apology
In an interview with Fox News, the owns of the The Bigg Chill responded to Lovato’s apology, and they said they found it “comical.”
“Most celebs who do come here did reach out but were laughing about the whole thing because the stuff we carry isn’t even our own products,” owners Cary Russell and Diane Dinow said. “We sell the same stuff she’d find in a Whole Foods, so if she’s really upset to that level, she should go directly to the source.”
But they added that there’s no bad blood between them, and if Lovato was willing to put it behind her they would be too.
“Of course there’s no ill will,” Russel told the outlet. ‘We’ve been here almost 40 years and we hope to remain a staple here for many more decades to come.”