Demi Lovato apologises for "1% African" tweet

Demi Lovato apologised on Friday (24Feb17) for sharing the results of a DNA test which revealed she is one per cent African.
The Cool for the Summer shared a screenshot of her results, which showed that the highest percentage of her ethnicity, 32 per cent, is rooted in the Iberian Peninsula, a coastal area of Spain and Portugal.
Beside the shot, Demi wrote: “I did a DNA test and found out I’m mainly Spanish, with Native American, SCANDINAVIAN (which I had NO idea), Irish, BRITISH….”. She then quickly followed her statement with another tweet announcing: “I’m 1% African!!!!”
Though Demi seemed excited by the revelation, some social media users were quick to criticise her, with one writing: “The only thing she’s good at is causing controversy. I’m out.”
Another Twitter user, @elielcruz, wrote a mean reply to Demi, which is no longer visible on the microblogging site. Most of Demi’s fans quickly jumped to her defence, pointing out that she had done nothing wrong in sharing her test results, though Demi herself sounded upset by the controversy.
“Just thought it was cool and totally random,” she later tweeted. “Some of y’all are mean af (as f**k) Twitter sucks.”
She also replied directly to the writer of the mean comment.
“@elielcruz I also included the other nationalities. But I understand and respect your point of view and didn’t mean to offend anyone.”
The social media spat has certainly not put Demi off promoting her latest project. Last week (ends24Feb17) she was announced as a new spokesperson for Be Vocal: Speak Up for Mental Health. The initiative, aimed at encouraging people across America to use their voice to support mental health, inspired Demi to executive-produce a documentary featuring three individuals living with mental illness.
The singer has been vocal about being diagnosed as bipolar aged 18.
“It’s important that we get that message out there because mental health is so important – it’s just as important as physical health,” she told Variety.
“I hope that this film will show people that there is nothing wrong with having a mental health condition,” she added. “If you do have one, you are able to live well and thrive with a mental health condition.”