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Demi Lovato's Backlash-Sparking Criticism Of Artist Who Drew Her As Mermaid Resurfaces—And Fans Have Flipped Their Perspective
Take a look at the exchange for yourself:
As far as Serbanescu was concerned, the issue wasn't beauty standards. It was anatomy meeting artistic logistics, with a little creative license thrown in. He defended his decisions in an interview with Seventeen.
Serbanescu explained the reasoning behind his creative choices:
"All I did to my drawing was modify some small elements. For example, I enlarged [their] breast just because I wanted [them] to lay on it and the posture of the body wasn't allowing it, therefore the only solution was making them bigger."
But Serbanescu wasn't just defending his artistic decisions. He was also frustrated that Lovato had commented on a fan account's repost rather than approaching him directly.
For the artist, that distinction mattered:
"I didn't expect that coming from [them] and I was kind of disappointed that they didn't even comment on my account but on someone's else without even letting me know."
Lovato, meanwhile, wasn't backing down.
While Serbanescu saw the illustration as artistic expression, the singer saw a more personal issue at play—whether she was expected to accept someone else's interpretation of her appearance without question.
Lovato made clear why she wasn't willing to let the criticism go unanswered:
"Sorry for saying anything at all. But it's equally offensive that someone would change my body because mine isn't good enough."
Serbanescu has continued sharing celebrity-inspired artwork, including an illustration of Adele that offers another look at his artistic style.
Take a look at Serbanescu's illustration of Adele:
The disagreement also divided entertainment coverage. While Bustle acknowledged Lovato's right to question how she was portrayed, Refinery29 took a more sympathetic approach to Serbanescu, treating the exchange as an unfortunate encounter between an artist and his subject.
Refinery29 offered a rather pointed takeaway from the controversy:
"He took a shot and he got shot down. Maybe he'll remember to watch out for mermaids. Sometimes, you sail straight into the rocks."
What makes the renewed conversation interesting isn't simply that people are revisiting an old celebrity controversy. It's what they're questioning about the original response. Some commenters are now asking why an artist's creative freedom seemed to matter more than the subject's right to have an opinion about her own portrayal.
Instagram commenter @jennifer_rae_design defended Lovato's right to question artwork depicting her:
"You’re allowed to be proud of your art. You also need to acknowledge that if you base your artwork off of a real human, they are allowed to have an opinion about it."
And that was hardly the only opinion making the rounds. The revived discussion brought out plenty of people eager to revisit the whole thing.
Here's how the conversation unfolded across social media:
@paige_loverde/Instagram
@iimarlieii/Instagram
@brainfreestv/Instagram
@meatloafmaggie/Instagram
@gretchen.m.goodell/Instagram
@patomaru/Instagram
@brianneleigh96/Instagram
@teo_ctinescu/Instagram
@calebscuriocabinet/Instagram
@rascallygoose49/Instagram
@melmarpur/Instagram
@myda.rkparadise/Instagram
There's also important context behind Lovato's reaction. The singer has spoken openly about her experiences with eating disorders and recovery, making body image a deeply personal subject rather than simply another celebrity controversy.
Lovato previously explained why discussing her struggles publicly became part of her recovery:
"I’ve been open about my struggles because part of my recovery includes being honest with myself and others, and I’m inspired to use my success as a platform to help others suffering."
And in a much more welcome blast from the past, Lovato recently reunited with Selena Gomez for a Rare Beauty collaboration.
The former Disney stars brought back some Princess Protection Program nostalgia for the "Still Making Each Other Blush" campaign, proving that not every trip down memory lane has to involve an internet argument.
Here's Lovato and Gomez bringing the nostalgia:
As for that mermaid controversy, the artwork hasn't changed, but the conversation surrounding it certainly has. And while the internet may never agree on everything, at least some people are finally considering whether Lovato deserved quite so much criticism in the first place.
Mom Goes Viral After Realizing She Spent Halloween Event With White Lips After Hilarious Mix-Up
In the comments, the mom indicated that her two-year-old was "stoked" by the wide variety of stickers, little toys, bubbles, and other trinkets that she received, and it was a safe event for children who couldn't have candy for medical and dietary reasons.
While touring the event, even Drue made out like a bandit, picking up a lip balm that she particularly liked from a medical group that was handing out personal and travel-sized items with their group's logo on the side.
The mom took her daughter to a sensory area that had been set up, and while her daughter was playing, she applied multiple coats of the lip balm to her lips, noting how comfortable, smooth, and hydrating it was.
In fact, she liked it so much that she went back to the medical group before they left and asked for a second one, since they had many of them left!
But when she returned to her car and looked in the mirror, she realized her lips were bright white.
Looking at the packaging again, she realized that the tube was double-sided, with sunscreen on one end and lip balm on the other. She'd accidentally applied the sunscreen to her lips instead of the balm!
You can watch the video here:
@Fellow TikTokers laughed along with @nataliemeansnice about the mix-up.
@nataliemeansnice/TikTok
@nataliemeansnice/TikTok
@nataliemeansnice/TikTok
@nataliemeansnice/TikTok
@nataliemeansnice/TikTok
@nataliemeansnice/TikTok
@nataliemeansnice/TikTok
@nataliemeansnice/TikTok
@nataliemeansnice/TikTok
@nataliemeansnice/TikTok
@nataliemeansnice/TikTok
This was such a silly little mistake that was totally harmless to everyone involved, making it totally hilarious!
There's a good chance that people around her thought that the mom had some kind of Halloween costume going on that they just didn't get, prompting them to not saying anything about her look.
At the very least, her lips were hydrated and protected!
Ariana Grande Caught Liking Instagram Post Hilariously Trolling Republicans After Midterms—And Fans Are Applauding
The meme originated on X, posted by user @intomatthew, and featured the caption "a moment of silence for Republicans," as if someone were calling for condolences for the losers.
Below that, the user wrote "me [as f*ck]" along with a clip of Grande singing on her recent Eternal Sunshine Tour.
But of course Grande doesn't just sing. She SINGS, with one of the most powerhouse voices in the biz. So that "moment of silence"? It's Grande absolutely bringing the house down with her ballad "Dangerous Woman."
The meme quickly went viral since it so perfectly taps into the obvious mood of the nation right now.
Which could probably best be summed up by a line from The Wizard of Oz, the source material for the Wicked films that have made Grande a movie star: "Ding dong the witch is dead."
Or, you know, the GOP is on its way to being dead, anyway. Sorry guys, even your own party members tried to tell you ten years ago that this would happen!
Anyway, after going viral, the meme featuring Grande made its way to Instagram, where attorney, influencer and podcaster @rebmasel reposted it.
Masel's post has garnered more than 140,000 likes and counting, nearly 13,000 reposts and more than 200 comments.
And as several eagle-eyed fans noticed, there was quite an A-lister among those hundreds of thousands of likes: Grande herself.
On X, another user posted a screenshot of Grande's like and posted it as a reply to the original poster's meme.
To which he understandably replied:
"SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP."
Her like on the Instagram post wasn't Grande's only commentary on the midterms though. She shared several celebratory posts on her Instagram Stories as well.
@arianagrande/Instagram
And she was in good, if relatively sparse, company.
Most celebrities have been content to just stay silent for the past year and a half—if they weren't gleefully signing up to join MAGA world themselves, that is, as in the case of people like Kim Kardashian and even Oprah Winfrey, who had no hesitation showing up to the wedding of Jeff Bezos, one of Trump's biggest donors.
But since Tuesday, the few who have remained vocal about their principles throughout this incredibly dark year and half were downright gleeful.
Finneas O'Connoll posted a celebratory joke to his Instagram Story praising Texas for going blue.
Stars like Pedro Pascal, Steven Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel, who've all been vocal in their criticism of the Trump movement, all made celebratory posts and comments as well.
White Lotus star Carrie Coon also spoke out on X.
Actor Mark Ruffalo posted a beautiful thank you post to all the organizers and activists who made the "Blue Tsunami" happen.
Actor John Leguizamo posted a jubilant video supporting the results.
And longtime Trump critic Bette Midler got in on the positive vibes too.
Most others, however, were stone silent just like they have been for the past two years. That silence is pretty deafening right about now.
Katie Miller Reveals That She Didn't Actually Vote In The Midterms—And Her Reason Is Getting Major Side-Eye
That expert analysis laid the blame at the feet of MAGA mothers that Miller claimed were simply too busy to vote.
Miller told CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell:
"You see that moms are too busy raising their children and taking care of them to go to the polls."
Apparently Republican women were also too busy to utilize early and absentee voting options available in every state or the mailed ballots of the eight states—California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, and Washington—that primarily conduct voting via the postal service.
You can watch Miller blame mothers for MAGA midterm losses here in a clip shared and commented on by The Bulwark correspondent Sarah Matthews:
When O’Donnell asked if Miller, as a mother of four children, had voted, she responded:
"I did not vote in Virginia because in Virginia when you vote, you dox your own address, and so I prefer my own safety and security over giving that up."
O'Donnell's cohost, Tony Dokoupil, then made a conciliatory remark trying to bolster Miller's weak excuse for not voting.
People quickly refuted Miller's excuse about not voting in Virginia because of doxxing.
Three main points were made to rebut Miller's excuse.
First, the Millers live in taxpayer funded military housing on a secure military base—not exactly a place the general public can easily access. And the Millers commandeering military housing for their own use, like other members of the Trump administration, was already public knowledge after being written about by The Atlantic in 2025.
Second, only authorized Virginia Secretary of State personnel see a voter's address, so Miller's address would be as secure as it is with the post office or her husband's employer.
Third, Virginia allows voters to use a PO Box as their address in lieu of a physical address, so Katie Miller could have voted without doxxing her home address.
So Miller is either ignorant of Virginia voting laws or lied about her reason for not voting.
People weren't buying what Miller was selling.
@artcandee/Bluesky
@jaredholt/X
Many cited that in the days leading up to and on election day, Miller harped about conservatives doing their duty and voting.
@reggiebblue/X
@RonFilipkowski/X
Others noted the Millers are vocal advocates of requiring a government ID, which shows a person's address, to vote.
@collectdust/X
@bengreenman/X
Doxxing for thee, but not for she?
@Krush59/X
Whatever Miller's appearance on CBS News was supposed to accomplish, it seems to have missed the mark.
Sort of like all of Trump's MAGA rallies and candidate endorsements leading up to the midterms.
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