For Demi Lovato, watching this summer's protests against police brutality has caused her to take stock of all the ways in which she herself has benefitted from Black culture, and how she can give back in a meaningful way.
In a new essay for Vogue, the singer reflected on how social distancing has upended her own schedule, for the better: “Having so much downtime during quarantine has given me the space to realise there’s so much more I could be doing to help other people,” she wrote. Though she couldn’t join protests in person because her health puts her at greater risk of severe COVID-19 complications, she realized she could harness her massive social following for good.
“There were things I was able to do from home, just from using my platform,” the 28-year-old wrote, conceding that her Instagram feed before stay-at-home orders “was very typical. If you scroll down my feed, it was mainly all glamour shots and pictures of me looking cute and fancy. But then there’s this sudden shift around the time Ahmaud Arbery was killed,” she wrote, nodding to the murder of Arbery, a Black man who was jogging in his neighborhood, by two white men who racially profiled him. “Now my feed is filled with information about racial injustice and what we can do to help.”
Though Demi has a long history of being open about issues like mental health and substance use, she experienced what she described as “a lightning bolt jolting through my body, where I was reminded of my privilege. I felt an overwhelming responsibility to help spread awareness about this injustice, so I began posting things that I thought would educate people.”
“I’ve always taken my advocacy work seriously, but now I’m looking at it with renewed focus,” she explained. “In this particular instance, what motivated me was knowing how much of myself comes from Black culture. I grew up listening to Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston and other soulful singers, but those two Black women in particular shaped me into the vocalist I am. If you look at my life, everything that I have — money, success, a roof over my head — it’s because of the inspiration those Black women gave me. I continue to be constantly inspired by people of colour today.”
So there she was, she added, “sitting in a home that I was able to afford with the money that I have from singing, while people of colour are fearing for their lives every day.” And while she admits she felt nervous to speak out, and that she fought an impulse to call the Black people in her life and apologize, she came to a realization: “After taking some time to educate myself, what I’ve learned is that to be a good ally, you need to be willing to protect people at all costs,” she wrote. “You have to step in if you see something happening that’s not right: a racist act, a racist comment, a racist joke.”
The singer was vague about her next steps, but it seems she is figuring that out as she goes. “Moving forward, I want to put my energy into my music and my advocacy work. I want to continue to strive to be a better person,” she wrote, adding that she wishes she “knew all the answers, but I know that I don’t. What I do know is that inclusivity is important. Creating environments where women, people of colour and trans people feel safe is important. Not just safe, but equal to their cis, white, male counterparts.” She urged both the music industry and the entertainment world at large to “pay attention,” and more crucially, to take action.
“Finally the world is waking up, and it’s beautiful to witness,” she added.
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Want more from Teen Vogue? Check this out: Demi Lovato on New Music, Body Acceptance, and Strength at the 2019 Teen Vogue Summit