Last updated at 4:58 PM on 25th December 2011
The Disney Channel has been forced into an embarrassing apology after one of it’s former stars, Demi Lovato, blasted a line in a show which made light of eating disorders.
Lovato – who earlier this year spoke about her own battle with bulimia – issued a serious of incredulous tweets after catching a repeat episode of Shake It Up.
The offending remark came from an actress playing a supermodel, who told characters Rocky, played by 15-year-old Zendaya Coleman and Cece (14-year-old Bella Thorne): ‘I could just eat you up, well if I ate.’
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Furious: Demi Lovato has hit out at the Disney Channel over a line in one of its shows which poked fun at eating disorders
Demi – who quit Disney show Sonny With
a Chance earlier this year to battle her own problems in rehab, fired a
furious tweet saying: ‘I find it really funny how a company can
lose one of their actresses from the pressures of an EATING DISORDER and
yet still make joke about that very disease….. #nice.’
She also questioned: ‘What are we promoting here?
#notfunnyATALL.’
Disney quickly responded, also via
Twitter, stating it was pulling two episodes of the show and apologised
for the offence caused.
Twitter rant: The actress – a former star of the channel herself – tweeted, blasting the network over the offending remark
Poor taste: Demi was offended by a line which saw an actress playing a supermodel on Shake It Up say ‘I could just eat you up, well if I ate,’ to the show’s teen stars Zendaya and Bella Thorne
Apology: Disney responded saying it was pulling two episodes and ‘re-evaluating them’
‘@ddlovato – we hear you & are
pulling both episodes as quickly as possible & re-evaluating them,’
@DisneyChanelPR wrote.
The statement went on: ‘It’s NEVER our intention to make light of eating disorders!’
Demi thanked the network for the
apology – but went on to bemoan the loss of curvy stars on the channel,
citing Raven-Symoné and Hilary Duff.
‘Is it just me or are the actresses getting THINNER AND THINNER… I miss the days of Raven and Lizzie McGuire,’ she said.
Teen stars: Bella Thorne and Zendaya Coleman from the show Shake It Up
Offending scene: An actress playing a supermodel makes the quip to the teen stars
Earlier this year Demi opened up about how she had quit acting because she found it too difficult to see herself on television.
Speaking about her eating disorder –
which she received treatment for in rehab – the Skyscraper singer
explained: ‘It made sense
to me to leave the show and focus on my music.
‘In the studio you don’t
see my body, and I feel all of my confidence is in my voice.
‘I don’t know if I could handle being in front of the camera with my
body right now.’
Quit: Demi left Disney Sonny With
a Chance earlier this year to battle her own eating disorder issues
Fresh star: After a stint in rehab, Demi is now focusing on her singing career
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Demi Lovato blasts Disney Channel over anorexia joke