The BBC has insisted that an apology aired during Demi Lovato’s set at ‘The Biggest Weekend’ was down to her language, rather than references to same-sex love during her performance.
On Sunday (27 May), Demi performed a string of hits live from Swansea, including her 2015 cut ‘Cool For The Summer’, which made headlines upon its release due to its references to bisexuality.
During the performance, Demi was seen grinding on one of her female dancers, ending in a message to the crowd that they should “love who they want to love”.
When airing the performance, the BBC chose this ill-timed moment to flash up an apology, saying: “We apologise if you’ve been offended by anything in this stream.”
Unfortunately, this prompted many to jump to the conclusion the BBC were apologising for the bisexual elements to Demi’s song and performance, which sparked a decidedly angry reaction on social media:
However, in a statement issued to Metro.co.uk, the BBC pointed out that the issue was not the same-sex dancing, but the swearing that had preceded it.
They said: “All artists are reminded not to use strong language at any point whilst on stage as their set will be broadcast live on the BBC and an apology slide was issued during the performance that was live streamed online.”
Demi was in Swansea ahead of the UK leg of her ‘Tell Me You Love Me’ world tour, with gigs in London, Birmingham, Glasgow and Manchester all scheduled for the beginning of next month.
She also recently unveiled a collaboration with British group Clean Bandit, ‘Solo’, which charted just outside the top 10 one week after its initial release.
Take a listen below: