Demi Lovato has responded to a barrage of abuse aimed at her after she appeared to make light of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest of fellow artist 21 Savage.
ICE agents arrested 21 Savage (real name Sha Yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph), saying that the Grammy-nominated rapper is in fact a British citizen who arrived in the US in 2005 and that his visa expired a year after his arrival.
The online response to the revelation that the Atlanta-based rapper may in fact be British has generated a mixture of responses ranging from concern to humour.
21 Savage on BBC trying to get us a good Brexit deal
Well, Lovato tweeted: "So far 21 Savage memes have been my favourite part of the Super Bowl."
But critics such as rapper Wale took issue with Lovato's position and pointed out the seriousness of what the young rapper is experiencing.
Why is somebody freedom funny ... I don’t get the joke https://t.co/Eyf4clympS
A lot of people were sending you love light , prayers etc . When people were making jokes about u at a rough time. A lot of people .Bless up https://t.co/9sxe1rJuA2
Offset, one-third of rap trio Migos, also spoke out against anyone who found humour in the situation.
ALL THE MEMES AND SHIT AINT FUNNY WHEN SOMEBODY GOING THROUGH SOME PRAYING FOR MY DAWG AINT SHIT FUNNY HIS FANILY DEPENDING ON HIM
As did other people who pointed out that people had shown support for Lovato during her time of need.
Damn. We was def Demi Lovato fans. When she was going through her shit I remember being on the tour bus and Savage said I hope she make it through that shit. People r weird bro.
Father of three young children gets deported, doesn’t know when next he will get to see his kids and Demi Lovato and the rest of y’all thought it was a funny situation. Wale and Offset were speaking facts only! #Free21Savage
Lovato, who has since appeared to deactivate her Twitter account, posted on her Instagram story to defend herself.
A majority of the abuse referenced the singer's issues with addiction and her most recent hospitalisation following an overdose.
Lovato clarified that she was not making light of deportation and told her followers that regardless, the response directed at her was "no excuse to laugh at someone's addiction let alone their OD."
The 26-year-old maintained that her laughter was in response to the revelation that the rapper was British and invited Wale into her DMs for further dialogue.
Some people online felt that the response to Lovato has been harsh.
Twitter: *laughs and makes fun of 21 savage* Demi Lovato: *Laughs like everybody else* Twitter: “BOI I KNOW YOU AINT LAUGHING” Demi Lovato:
Twitter vs demi lovato right now
Demi Lovato: *breathes* The TL:
Whole TL : *Laughing at 21 Savage* Demi Lovato: *Laughs too* TL:
Everyone on twitter when Demi Lovato jokes about 21 Savage being deported to the UK:
Demi Lovato is getting backlash for laughing at 21 savage😂😂 she laughed at a 21 savage meme and everyone is calling her a crackhead..the internet is fucked up bro what type of logic y’all run on💀😂