Demi Lovato’s comments about The Bigg Chill frozen yogurt shop were “lost in translation,” the singer claimed in a Facebook Live chat on Thursday. Back in April, they called out the Los Angeles small business for carrying sugar-free options and “diet foods,” calling it “triggering” to them as someone who struggled with eating disorders. Lovato later shared screenshots from a conversation she had with The Bigg Chill‘s staff, who explained that the sugar-free food options were meant for diabetics, vegans, and others with diet restrictions.
“Every time I’ve made a statement over Instagram or Twitter, I felt like it’s gotten lost in translation a little bit,” Lovato said during an Audacity Check-In on Facebook Live episode, reports PEOPLE. They “realized that because I was so passionate…I let my emotions get the best of me.” The lack of clarity from their social media comments inspired them to start their 4D podcast, Lovato explained.
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“I just thought going forward, I want to have conversations where people can see my face, they can hear my voice, and they can see that I’m still learning as well as the rest of the world,” Lovato said Thursday. “I’m by no means an expert on many, many things. But, I’m willing to learn about it and I’m willing to continue to have conversations that either educate me or others on how to make the world a better place.”
The situation with The Bigg Chill began in mid-April when Lovato revealed in a series of Instagram Story posts that they found it “extremely hard to order froyo” from the store because of the “diet foods” offered inside. Lovato pointed out that customers have to “walk past tons of sugar-free cookies/other diet foods before you get to the counter.” They demanded the store to “do better please” and accused the store of being “diet culture vultures.”
Lovato also shared a DM chat she had with the business, which explained that they “carry items for Diabetics, Celiac disease, Vegan and of course have many indulgent items as well.” They “cater to all of our customers’ needs for the past 36 years. We are sorry you found this offensive,” the staff continued. Nevertheless, Lovato told them that their “whole experience” at the store was “triggering and awful.”
Lovato was heavily criticized for the way she handled the situation, especially as many felt they were using their massive Instagram platform to call out a small business. The singer later posted a now-deleted video in which they admitted they should have gone about things differently, but still defended their position. “I’m protective of the little girl inside of me that didn’t get that representation at a young age of someone saying, ‘All of this diet stuff at a young age is not OK. You’re worth more than that,’” Lovato said. “I walked into a situation that didn’t sit right for me. My intuition said, ‘Speak up,’ so I did.”
