Redeem now - Demi Lovato was trending on Twitter over the weekend as some users claimed the singer had a fake Instagram account used to bash her ex-friend Selena Gomez.
- A source close to Lovato told Insider that the singer's team insists that the images and videos circulating social media are doctored.
- "It's unfortunate that people are finding time to attack others when the world has far bigger issues to focus on at the moment," the source added.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Internet sleuths thought they were cracking a huge case over the weekend, as many online believed they had confirmed a rumor that Demi Lovato had a fake Instagram account used to bash her former best friend Selena Gomez.
The hashtag #DemiLovatoIsOverParty began trending on Friday evening as users posted screenshots of what they claimed to be images posted on Lovato's finsta.
The alleged fake account, @traumaqueen4eva, was removed from Instagram as of Monday afternoon. Fans believed the account, which was allegedly full of anti-Gomez content, to be run by Lovato herself, because screen recordings of an Instagram Live featuring Lovato appeared to be broadcast by the account.
—Hana (@MissAmericHANA) April 17, 2020Others claimed that Lovato had posted images on her Story that were used as profile pictures for the alleged fake account.
—Jão is Rare (@JaoGomezz) April 17, 2020But a source close to Lovato told Insider that the singer's team insists the claims are phony, and that there are "several fake and doctored posts" circulating online. "It's unfortunate that people are finding time to attack others when the world has far bigger issues to focus on at the moment," the source added.
Many Twitter users echoed that sentiment, saying that the images all appeared to be edited.
The drama comes soon after Lovato commented on her now-defunct friendship with Gomez in an interview with Harper's Bazaar for the magazine's May cover story. "When you grow up with somebody, you're always going to have love for them. But I'm not friends with her," she told Harper's Bazaar in an article published April 14. "I will always have love for her, and I wish everybody nothing but the best."
Previously, the singer revealed that the friendship was over in a 2015 interview with Complex.
So-called finsta accounts, a portmanteau of "fake Instagram," are popular amongst Gen Z teens, who use the private accounts as a sort of diary that's only visible by their closest friends. Lovato previously used a private account in 2018, according to Refinery 29.
Celebrities have long been using fake social media accounts to connect with their own family and friends away from the limelight. Jennifer Aniston told Jimmy Kimmel in an appearance on his show last October that she had created a private account to "dip my toe into the social-media pool."
Jesse Eisenberg told Ellen DeGeneres in an October 2010 interview that though he had played Mark Zuckerberg in "The Social Network," he only used Facebook from an account with an alias.
Insider can't independently verify the veracity of the Instagram posts or recordings, given that the account was seemingly private.
Kat Tenbarge contributed reporting to this piece.
- Read more:
- Jennifer Aniston reveals she was secretly using Instagram with a 'stalker' account before officially joining, and she's not the only celebrity that's used a fake account
- To beat Instagram stress, some teens are juggling multiple accounts on the image-sharing social media platform
- Demi Lovato said she asked for help before her relapse and near-fatal overdose, but her team called her 'selfish' and said she would 'ruin things'
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