Singer and actress Demi Lovato got herself in hot water after the Super Bowl last night for making fun of rapper 21 Savage, who was apprehended by federal immigration enforcement officials in Atlanta.
Last night, Lovato tweeted about the many 21 Savage memes that were popping up.
The singer’s now-deleted tweet ruffled some feathers. Rappers Wale, Offset, Lil Yachty, 21 Savage’s manager, and more took to social media to air out their grievances, which caused the actress to issue an apology and delete her Twitter account. Lovato took to Instagram to clarify her tweet, and issue an apology, which was captured by The Shade Room.
D.C. rapper Wale was one of the first hip-hop artists to question Lovato’s statement on social media. He tweeted that when the singer was struggling with addiction a lot of people were sending her good energy and that he didn’t understand what was funny about someone losing their freedom. Following the Twitter spat, Lovato also decided to step into The Shade Room and clap back at Wale, stating that, “Wale just salty I never replied to his desperate tweets years ago.” Wale replied, “Still ain’t gone disrespect you..still praying for you Demi. Glad u seen my old tweets. Hopefully you seen the ones providing comfort and prayer when you were down. I don’t kick people when they down. Go queen.”
Migos group member Offset took to Twitter to state that the memes and jokes aren’t funny when someone is enduring a rough time.
Lil Yachty showed support of 21 Savage, and then, later on, replied to Wale’s first tweet about the situation saying “F**ck Demi Lovato n**ga #21.”
One of 21 Savage’s managers, Kei Henderson, took to Twitter stating that when Lovato endured addiction 21 Savage showed her support.
21 Savage, whose legal name is Sha Yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, was arrested in a targeted operation in Atlanta, Georgia, which included local and federal law enforcement officers, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the Associated Press. He may be facing deportation.
Glennisha Morgan is a Detroit-bred multimedia journalist and writer. She writes about intersectionality, hip-hop, pop culture, queer issues, race, feminism, and her truth.