Rich Fury/Getty Demi Lovato performing in March 2021.
Demi Lovato is facing some backlash on social media after the pop star made an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. The singer sat down with Rogan on his Spotify podcast for more than two hours, talking about her life, career, new documentary and her struggles with addiction, including her near-fatal 2018 overdose.
Lovato, who performed at President Joe Biden’s inauguration in January and who has often supported Democrats and liberal causes, raised some eyebrows by going on a podcast that is seen as controversial by many on the left. Rogan has drawn accusations in recent months of being transphobic and of being a bigot, and is often conflated with the right. But he has said he has always been “socially liberal” and open minded.
After the episode, #1625, was posted by Rogan on Saturday, March 28, 2021, some Lovato fans pushed back against her decision to go on his podcast. “Not Joe Rogan. Demi, why?,” one fan wrote on Twitter. Another tweeted, “DEMI LOVATO ON JOE ROGAN? ma’am why.” Another Lovato fan tweeted, “why the absolute F*** is demi on the joe rogan podcast.” Another tweeted, “joe rogan? really bestie?”
Lovato opened up about her life in a YouTube documentary, Dancing With the Devil, that premiered a week before her appearance on Rogan’s podcast. On the podcast with Rogan, Lovato talked about her sobriety, practicing jiu-jitsu and being bullied as a teen celebrity. The full episode can be heard on Spotify here.
Rogan praised Lovato on Instagram in a post promoting their conversation, writing, “I really enjoyed getting to know @ddlovato. She’s gone through a lot of wild s*** in her young life and come out on the other end with grace and composure.” Lovato responded in the comments, “I had a great time! Thanks for having me!!”
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While Some Lovato Fans Questioned Why She Would Go on Rogan’s Podcast, Labelling Him a ‘Bigot,’ Others Supported Her, Saying ‘Demi Is All About Getting the Message Out’
When a Lovato fan tweeted, “The comments on that Joe Rogan post about Demi are so bad. Who the hell is that guy?,” another responded, “a bigot, that’s all you need to know.”
Some Lovato fans were happy with the Rogan interview. One wrote on Twitter, “Demi’s Joe Rogan interview is so good, I love that even though they’re talking about heavy s*** it’s still been kept light hearted.”
Another praised her, replying to someone who had called Rogan, “a right wing sexist a**hole. and his show is really popular with edge lords, by writing, “to be honest, I understand why. Demi is all about getting the message out there and speaking on her issues. the thing about joe rogan is that even though he’s a twat, he does give you the opportunity to talk about anything without judgement from him. it’s an even playing field.”
A Lovato fan wrote on Twitter, “Demi went on Joe Rogan??!?! My impact!!!” When another fan responded, “She’s getting dragged so hard Girl,” in response to negative comments from Rogan listeners, the first fan replied, “So did Miley, straight males are dumb and sexist. But once they listen to the interview they’ll all switch like they did with Miley … The point is to get them to listen lol after Miley’s interview, a lot of them said they sought out her music. It’s all about exposure.” Fellow pop singer Miley Cyrus appeared on Rogan’s podcast in September 2020.
Other Lovato Fans Rallied to Pushback Against Comments From Rogan Listeners Who Were Bashing the Pop Star in the Comments on Rogan’s Instagram & YouTube Pages
Many Rogan fans also weren’t happy about her appearance on the JRE podcast and they expressed their displeasure in his guest choice on his Instagram and YouTube channels. Others posted disparaging comments about Lovato. And her fans quickly rallied to try to push back against those comments.
“Go hype-man Demi in Joe Rogan’s Instagram photo comments because straight men are wildin out being the worst,” a fan wrote on Twitter. Another Lovato fan said on Twitter, “not me pretending to be a local defending demi under the rogan videos.”
Y’all retweet this so stans can ratio the dislikes on Joe’s YouTube videos !!!
Others said the comments should have been predictable. One Twitter user said, “not demi going on the joe rogan podcast and getting ate up by his right-wing incels and edgelords fanbase… look at the like to dislike ratio, and lemme not talk about the comments.” Another tweeted, “Yea his audience are all straight white men who make drug jokes daily … and that she has said certain things that made them a little mad like when she said transgender parties are transphobic etc ., and her song commander in chief. She’s very liberal.”
Another Lovato fan tweeted, “joe rogan is garbage… i could care less if his videos have dislikes, whether demi is in them or not.”
Other Rogan fans blamed Spotify for Lovato’s appearance, speculating the streaming service had told him to have her on. One wrote on Twitter, “why did Rogan have to go to Spotify it’s been so painful watching this slow decline. Demi lovato ep is about to get ratio’d with dislikes on yt as it should.”
Rogan has often rallied against cancel culture, and his listeners said they expected Lovato to see backlash. One said, “I think it’s great Demi Lovato went on Joe Rogan’s show to talk about what’s she gone through and I’m especially here for the sh**show of Feminists who will have no idea how to come to terms with her decision to do so. This is great lol.”