After singer/songwriter Demi Lovato dragged a frozen yogurt shop that offered sugar-free options for customers, Leah McSweeney from The Real Housewives of New York had to call her out. Demi recently came out with a new documentary series called Dancing With The Devil, where she covered a range of topics including, her near-fatal overdose in 2018. One of the topics she touched upon was her past eating disorder, a topic she has been open and honest about for many years.
For those who may not know of Leah, she came into fame when she joined RHONY last season and quickly became a fan favorite. Viewers of the Bravo series loved Leah for her fun, outspoken personality. She brought a new generation to the cast as someone more free-spirited compared to the other women on the show. Leah has always been someone who sticks up for those with a lesser voice, and she seems to be at it again.
On Sunday, Demi Lovato took to Instagram, where she called out The Bigg Chill, a local frozen yogurt shop in Los Angeles. The 28-year-old used her platform to call out the establishment for displaying “diet foods” before the more indulgent items. “Finding it extremely hard to order froyo from The Bigg Chill when you have to walk past tons of sugar-free cookies/other diet foods before you get to the counter. Do better please,” she shared to her Instagram Stories. Demi even started a hashtag calling them “diet culture vultures” as she believed this was harmful messaging that enables disordered eating. However, seeing as Demi tagging the yogurt shop in her Stories, they decided to reply, assuring the singer they offer the diet items for those who suffer from diabetes, Celiac disease, and even those who are vegan. Leah McSweeney became aware of Demi’s recent Stories and had to call her out for dragging a small business for doing its job. The reality star said Demi should be “ashamed of herself for using her platform of 102 million” followers to call out a small business.
“She’s mad that they sell diet frozen yogurt and sugar-free options because that triggers her, therefore they should just be harassed and go out of business,” she said, adding, “I’m sorry that she had to deal with an eating disorder, that’s terrible, but does that mean that like we have to like stop offering people sugar-free options for things? What about people with diabetes?” She also called Demi out for her privilege of having such a large platform with the ability to take down a business so easily. Leah said if Demi wants to fight diet culture, she should be calling out people in Hollywood, such as the Kardashians.
Demi has every right to feel the way she feels, but to put a company on blast for simply offering a sugar-free alternative is not the way to fight diet culture in Hollywood. Leah made a great point about calling out people who tend to promote an unrealistic body image, rather than an innocent frozen yogurt shop that is simply catering to those who are not able to eat the full-fat items. While Demi made an important point about diet culture, she took a stand about it the wrong way.
Sources: Demi Lovato, Leah McSweeney
