Demi Lovato deleted her Twitter Sunday night during the Super Bowl after a mention of rapper 21 Savage (born Shayaa Bin Abraham-Joseph) invited criticism of the singer. 21 Savage was arrested by immigration authorities Sunday because he allegedly overstayed his visa — he is, despite having been an Atlanta fixture for years, apparently a U.K. citizen.
The rapper's arrest brought on a slew of reactions, some of them lighthearted, as fans discovered that perhaps 21 Savage had possibly been covering up a foreign accent for years. Largely, though, the arrest was seen as an aggressive move from ICE.
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Early Sunday evening, Lovato tweeted, "So far 21 savage memes have been my favorite part of the Super Bowl."
The tweet immediately received a backlash, as commenters noted that there is nothing funny about being detained by ICE. The backlash, thought, invited its own backlash when it veered towards Lovato's past struggles with addiction. User Sid the Kid wrote, "Well @ddlovato you are a sore loser for making fun of @21savage nobody made fun of you when you were poppin them drugs...Keep that negative energy way over there, I’m praying for you too...Stay blessed."
Well @ddlovato you are a sore loser for making fun of @21savage nobody made fun of you when you were poppin them drugs...Keep that negative energy way over there, I’m praying for you too...Stay blessed. #21savage
— Sid The Kid (@sidthekid1) February 4, 2019
Another user wrote, "so demi lovato gonna sit there and laugh at someone else's misfortune and ya'll expect people not to clown on her? did we laugh when she almost got deported to heaven? no. so see when you do clownery. did we laugh when she almost got deported to heaven? no. so see when you do clownery."
so demi lovato gonna sit there and laugh at someone else's misfortune and ya'll expect people not to clown on her? did we laugh when she almost got deported to heaven? no. so see when you do clownery. pic.twitter.com/oUY0ucSGDd
— not very abrasive (@veryabrasive) February 4, 2019
The backlash went high profile when musicians Wale and Offset seemingly joined. Wale quote tweeted Lovato, writing, "Why is somebody freedom funny ... I don’t get the joke." Later, Wale added: "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."
Offset then appeared to subtweet everyone who had made jokes at 21 Savage's expense, writing, "ALL THE MEMES AND SHIT AINT FUNNY WHEN SOMEBODY GOING THROUGH SOME PRAYING FOR MY DAWG AINT SHIT FUNNY HIS FANILY DEPENDING ON HIM."
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Why is somebody freedom funny ... I don’t get the joke https://t.co/Eyf4clympS
— Wale (@Wale) February 4, 2019
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
— Wale (@Wale) February 4, 2019
ALL THE MEMES AND SHIT AINT FUNNY WHEN SOMEBODY GOING THROUGH SOME
— OFFSET (@OffsetYRN) February 4, 2019
PRAYING FOR MY DAWG
AINT SHIT FUNNY HIS FANILY
DEPENDING ON HIM
Shortly after, Lovato declared that she hated Twitter and that she would be leaving. (She also asked Twitter to come up with more "original" jabs than ones at her struggles with addiction.) On her Instagram story, she gave a final statement on it all:
"Lastly, I wasn't making fun on anything having to do with deportation or even anything against him. I was laughing at the who the fuck knew 21 was British? Literally no one. That's it. It doesn't go deeper than that. I'm sorry if I upset people. Truly."
Demi via instagram story (ddlovato) pic.twitter.com/eqd3ntRe3W
— Demi Lovato News (@ddlovatoffnews) February 4, 2019
21 Savage is still in ICE custody. A spokesperson for the immigration enforcement agency said in a statement to The Associated Press that his arrest had been a "targeted operation." Savage reportedly entered the U.S. as a teenager and stayed after his visa expired. In 2014, Savage was convicted of felony drug charges. His arrest is reportedly connected to the 2014 charge. In a statement provided to E! News, ICE called Savage "unlawfully present in the U.S. and also a convicted felon."
The rapper's lawyer Dina LaPolt said in a statement that Savage's legal team is "working diligently to get Mr. Abraham-Joseph out of detention while we work with the authorities to clear up any misunderstandings."