Demi Lovato Returns To Met After ‘Terrible’ Experience, Shares Music Update

Demi Lovato is back at the Met Gala, giving fans a "Heart Attack" with her stunning sparkling, sleeveless floral gown. The singer, 31, hasn't been to fashion's biggest night for nearly a decade.

Lovato returned on Monday night's (May 6) ball, where the theme was "Garden of Time." While talking to E! News, the singer admitted that it felt "amazing" to return to the exciting fashion event, where creativity shines through.

Demi, who got engaged to musician Jutes in December, was feeling a little nervous and anxious, "but ultimately excited," she told the publication. Sharing images to her Instagram, Demi captioned the carousel of photos: "We’re baaaack [silver heart emoji]." Her fiancé commented, "most beautiful human on earth by a lot. so proud of u baby." Kesha replied to her post, "Looking f---ing hot n gorgeous."

Her Lovatics felt the same, with one user writing, "If there’s one thing Demi is gonna do… it’s serve! Looking stunningggggg." Another fan wrote, "'we’re back' YES YOU ARE!!!!!" A third simply stated, "THE ONE."

The singer made her Met Gala debut in 2016, and hasn't returned until this year. The theme then was "Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology." Demi wore a gaudy sequined silver, gold, and black sequined gown by Moschino, with her hair slicked back.

In an interview with Billboard from 2018, she said, "I had a terrible experience." She called out an unnamed celebrity for being "a complete bitch" and "miserable to be around." She called the illustrious event, which cost $75,000 to attend this year, "very cliquey."

During her debut, Lovato was struggling with her addiction issues, recalling that she was so uncomfortable that she was enticed to drink. That night, she attended an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. "I changed my clothes, but I still had my diamonds on — millions of dollars of diamonds on in an AA meeting," she told Billboard.

Of her first Met Gala experience, Lovato realized she "related more to the homeless people" in that meeting than the people at the Met Gala — "fake and sucking the fashion industry’s d---."

Besides her notable return to the Met, Lovato has been working on new music. She told E! that she's currently in the studio, telling fans that "hopefully, it'll be out in the near future." She reassures, "Music is on the way."

Lovato's last album was a pop-punk record called Holy Fvck in 2022, and the year prior, she released the pop album Dancing with the Devil… the Art of Starting Over. Lovato has eight studio albums, and her voice has only gotten better through the years.

In an interview with Fashionista in March, she said she has been enjoying providing her Lovatics with an outlet through her music or interviews, "being that safe space for other people" and sharing her vulnerability.

Now in her 30s and the most clear-headed we have seen her, Lovato has changed her beauty standards because she realized that "it's about how you feel within rather than how you look on the outside," she continued.

We only have one body, so it is important to accept and embrace the skin we're in. Social media and dieting trends have been the source of body dysmorphia and eating disorders in our society. In modern times, celebrities and influencers have openly rejected this overly-filtered, photoshopped media landscape.

Body positivity is a movement that promotes acceptance of all bodies, regardless of size, shape, skin tone, gender, and physical abilities. In a study published in the December 2019 issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, body dissatisfaction is closely associated with depression, use of performance-enhancing substances, and low self-esteem.

According to a 2016 study by the International Journal of Eating Disorders, even brief exposure to media messages portraying an "ideal physique" was linked to increased body image concerns and eating disorder symptoms. The same research also found that body dissatisfaction is associated with adolescents' poor self-esteem regardless of gender, age, weight, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.

Brands that have been problematic before for not being inclusive of different body types, gender, and race have since adopted more inclusive campaigns. For example, Victoria's Secret was criticized for its lack of body inclusivity. Then, in 2021, they underwent a rebranding by replacing their "Angels" with the "VS Collective."

Deciding not to compare yourself to others and celebrating your body is the way to live a body-positive mindset. If you start at a place of self-love, you can achieve this. In a world where media and the internet can be so cruel and judgmental, being sure of yourself and your values as an individual can turn that negativity into static.

The bar is set high on how we are supposed to live our lives and how we are supposed to look while doing it. A successful or happy life isn't solely based on the physical or material. We have more to offer ourselves, our loved ones, and the world.

In 2016, Zendaya called out a magazine for photoshopping her, writing: "These are the things that make women self-conscious, that create the unrealistic ideals of beauty that we have. Anyone who knows who I am knows I stand for honest and pure self love. So I took it upon myself to release the real pic (right side) and I love it." The Euphoria star later said, "There is no such thing as ugly. That's a word that doesn't really enter my vocabulary. If there's any definition to being perfect, you're perfect at being yourself. No other person can be you 100 percent; no one has your fingerprint; no one has your DNA. You are you 120 percent, through and through. Whether it is through my social media or whatever, I want anyone who looks up to me to know that I go through the same problems. I have to be confident in who I am."

In an interview with the New York Post, Twain said, "Menopause taught me to quickly say, 'You know, it may only get worse. So just love yourself now. Just get over your insecurities—they're standing in your way. And fear is standing in your way.'"

In 2021, the Superbad star clapped back at paparazzi after photos of himself surfing were published online. "I don't think I ever took my shirt off in a pool until I was in my mid 30s even in front of family and friends," he wrote at the time. "Probably would have happened sooner if my childhood insecurities weren't exacerbated by years of public mockery about my body by press and interviewers. So the idea that the media tries to play me by stalking me while surfing and printing photos like this and it can't phase me anymore is dope. I'm 37 and finally love and accept myself." He later expressed that he’d prefer that his [inlink id="jonah-hill-body-talk" text="body not be a topic for public discussion"], taking to Instagram to make that clear. He said at the time, “I know you mean well but I kindly ask that you not comment on my body. Good or bad I want to politely let you know it’s not helpful and doesn’t feel good. Much respect.” Despite his statement, news publications still write about his weight gain or loss.

For years, the "Cool For The Summer" singer battled an eating disorder and has often spoken out about positive body image. She has often slammed the "thigh gap," a growing trend among dieters in recent years. In 2018, the singer wrote on Instagram: "Stretch marks and extra fat...And yet I still love myself. Cellulite...and yet I still love myself." Lovato later told E! News she started comparing herself to Instagram models and thought to herself, "Someone needs to show my fans and anybody that's looking at my account that what you see isn't always what's real. And so, I decided to embrace my flaws and—I don't even like to call them flaws, it's just a part of who I am—and show the world that I'm imperfect, but that's what makes me beautiful."

Winslet previously told Vogue Australia, "As a child, I never heard one woman say to me, 'I love my body.' Not my mother, my elder sister, my best friend. No one woman has ever said, 'I am so proud of my body.' I make sure to say it to [my daughter] Mia because a positive physical outlook has to start at an early age." Winslet was just 20 years old when she bared it all in 1997's Titanic. The actress has been on the receiving end of more "male gaze" focus than most because she wasn't as thin as other actresses at this time. She explained that at the time, there were several toxic fans and journalists who commented on her weight being the reason Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) ended up dying and not getting on the door. "Apparently, I was too fat," she said. "Why were they so mean to me? They were so mean. I wasn’t even f---ing fat. If I could turn back the clock, I would've used my voice in a completely different way." She said she'd tell the journalists: "'Don’t you dare treat me like this. I'm a young woman, my body is changing, I'm figuring it out, I'm deeply insecure, I'm terrified, don't make this any harder than it already is.' That’s bullying, you know, and actually borderline abusive, I would say."

The former tennis star told ABC News in 2015, "I love that I'm a full woman and I am strong, and I'm powerful, and I'm beautiful at the same time. And there's nothing wrong [with] that." The mother of two said stressed the importance of looking at the positives. "If I get caught up looking at the negatives, it can really bring you down. I don't have time to be brought down, I've got too many things to do. I have Grand Slams to win, I have people to inspire, and that's what I'm here for."

The La La Land star told Seventeen in 2014, "No matter how things look from the outside, we can all be super critical of ourselves and of our image in the mirror. I've seen articles or comments that have addressed my weight, or 'caving to pressure to be thin.' Keeping weight on is a struggle for me—especially when I'm under stress, and especially as I've gotten older....I remind myself to be kind to myself, and as slightly ridiculous as it may sound, to treat myself in the same gentle way I'd want to treat a daughter of mine. It really helps."

The Devil Wears Prada star advised aspiring actresses not to worry about their weight too much. She told Indiana University in 2014 that at the start of her acting career, she was always in plays, but thought it was vain to be an actress. "Plus, I thought I was too ugly to be an actress. Glasses weren’t fabulous then." She told aspiring performers, "For young men, and women, too, what makes you different or weird, that's your strength. Everyone tries to look a cookie-cutter kind of way and actually the people who look different are the ones who get picked up. I used to hate my nose. Now I don't. It's okay."

With nearly 100 acting credits, Davis said at the 2016 Critics Choice Awards she is "used to playing women who gotta gain 40 pounds and have to wear an apron." When she thought she had to lose weight and "walk like Kerry Washington in heels," she asked herself, "'Why do I have to do all that?' I truly believe that the privilege of a lifetime is being who you are." She concluded, "You come into my world and you sit with me, my size, my hue, my age, and you sit, and you experience."

Following her 2017 Super Bowl halftime performance, Gaga responded to her body being a topic of conversation. Taking to Instagram, the "Bad Romance" singer said, "I'm proud of my body and you should be proud of yours too. No matter who you are or what you do. I could give you a million reasons why you don't need to cater to anyone or anything to succeed. Be you, and be relentlessly you. That's the stuff of champions."

The "Stay With Me" singer, who is non-binary, previously admitted that with past photo shoots, they have "starved myself for weeks in advance and then picked and prodded at every picture and then normally taken the picture down." Rejecting that in a 2019 photoshoot shirtless at the beach, the singer-songwriter said, "Yesterday I decided to fight the f--- back. Reclaim my body and stop trying to change this chest and these hips and these curves that my mum and dad made and love so unconditionally. Some may take this as narcissistic and showing off but if you knew how much courage it took to do this and the body trauma I have experienced as a kid you wouldn't think those things."