To state the obvious, pop star Demi Lovato has a lot of Instagram followers — and this week, they're using their influence to push lizard people conspiracies and vibrators in a strange series of brand deals.
Lovato really cares about their fans' vibrational levels, no matter how you'd like to interpret that. They began by becoming the first celebrity ambassador for Gaia: a subscription-based video service dedicated to "transformational content for the mind, body and soul."
Gaia's four primary channels fall under the categories of Yoga, Transformation, Alternative Healing and Seeking Truth — and while the site originally became known for the former, it has since earned a reputation based on the latter as a "hub for QAnon influencers." It has since been deplatformed from leading social media websites for spreading misinformation and anti-vax rhetoric, however, Gaia claims to still have 750,000 paying members.
"With Demi's fondness of Gaia and natural curiosity about the topics we cover, including extraterrestrials, meditation and consciousness, they will be welcomed with open arms by Gaia's community," the company wrote in a press release. They're right in noting Lovato's recent interest in all things extraterrestrial.
Likewise, the pop star shared to their 118 million followers: "Thrilled to be a [Gaia] ambassador. Understanding the world around us (the known and the unknown) is so exciting to me!" That doesn't necessarily sound super yoga-related, does it?
In addition to the one free video fans can watch about an "ancient space program," the pop star's curated collection of handpicked favourites on the platform also includes content concerning ancient civilizations — an antisemitic conspiracy theory popularized by David Icke that argues for the existence of reptilian "lizard-people" prior to the development of human society — and the lost city of Atlantis [via The Daily Beast].
The less disturbing but weird follow-up came (pun intended) yesterday (November 8), when Lovato announced another partnership with Bellesa Boutique. They teamed up to create the shop's smallest and quietest wand vibrator called the Demi Wand, available in a bright banana yellow or beige for $79 USD.
"I wanted to create my own sex toy to take the stigma away from pleasure, and to take your sexual relationship to the next level," Lovato wrote in the caption an Instagram post (that may have since been deleted), posing with the cute, colourful sex toy.
A far nobler way of "doing your own research," indeed. While the pop star's not going so far as to authorize any QAnon conspiracies, they seem quite willing to put their name next to these controversial sources. It's clear to see just how easily the pursuit of "wellness" and bettering oneself through learning can take a dark turn with the misinformation spewing from platforms like Gaia.
The yoga classes probably aren't half bad, though.
More wholesomely, Lovato shared a wholesome story about sliding into Schitt's Creek star Emily Hampshire's DMs to ask her out earlier this year.
Lovato really cares about their fans' vibrational levels, no matter how you'd like to interpret that. They began by becoming the first celebrity ambassador for Gaia: a subscription-based video service dedicated to "transformational content for the mind, body and soul."
Gaia's four primary channels fall under the categories of Yoga, Transformation, Alternative Healing and Seeking Truth — and while the site originally became known for the former, it has since earned a reputation based on the latter as a "hub for QAnon influencers." It has since been deplatformed from leading social media websites for spreading misinformation and anti-vax rhetoric, however, Gaia claims to still have 750,000 paying members.
"With Demi's fondness of Gaia and natural curiosity about the topics we cover, including extraterrestrials, meditation and consciousness, they will be welcomed with open arms by Gaia's community," the company wrote in a press release. They're right in noting Lovato's recent interest in all things extraterrestrial.
Likewise, the pop star shared to their 118 million followers: "Thrilled to be a [Gaia] ambassador. Understanding the world around us (the known and the unknown) is so exciting to me!" That doesn't necessarily sound super yoga-related, does it?
In addition to the one free video fans can watch about an "ancient space program," the pop star's curated collection of handpicked favourites on the platform also includes content concerning ancient civilizations — an antisemitic conspiracy theory popularized by David Icke that argues for the existence of reptilian "lizard-people" prior to the development of human society — and the lost city of Atlantis [via The Daily Beast].
The less disturbing but weird follow-up came (pun intended) yesterday (November 8), when Lovato announced another partnership with Bellesa Boutique. They teamed up to create the shop's smallest and quietest wand vibrator called the Demi Wand, available in a bright banana yellow or beige for $79 USD.
"I wanted to create my own sex toy to take the stigma away from pleasure, and to take your sexual relationship to the next level," Lovato wrote in the caption an Instagram post (that may have since been deleted), posing with the cute, colourful sex toy.
A far nobler way of "doing your own research," indeed. While the pop star's not going so far as to authorize any QAnon conspiracies, they seem quite willing to put their name next to these controversial sources. It's clear to see just how easily the pursuit of "wellness" and bettering oneself through learning can take a dark turn with the misinformation spewing from platforms like Gaia.
The yoga classes probably aren't half bad, though.
More wholesomely, Lovato shared a wholesome story about sliding into Schitt's Creek star Emily Hampshire's DMs to ask her out earlier this year.
