MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

Why did NBC edit Demi's vote message? Internet alleges freedom of speech violation: 'You're disgusting'

In the footage, the artiste finished her performance with the word 'VOTE' appearing on screens placed on stage, but NBC edited out the message and just ended it with a close-up of her

On Wednesday, October 14, night Demi Lovato took the stage at the 2020 Billboard Music Awards to perform her song ‘Commander In Chief’ – a direct aim at President Donald Trump. As per a video obtained by TMZ, the 28-year-old singer’s powerful performance enthralled fans, one of her messages were allegedly censored by NBC.

In the footage, obtained by TMZ, the artiste finished her performance with the word "VOTE" appearing on screens placed on the stage. However, NBC edited out the "VOTE" message and just ended it with a close-up of her, which aired on TV and official online clips.  According to TMZ, sources informed that the network pulled the plug on the "VOTE" message because the song itself was a comment on Trump and the "VOTE" message was an appeal to vote against him.

The lyrics of the song make Lovato’s opinion for POTUS clear. The song is hard-hitting and confronting over a gospel-fused pop ballad with lyrics like "We're in a state of crisis, people are dying/While you line your pockets deep/Commander in chief, how does it feel to still be able to breathe?" and "We’ll be in the streets while you’re bunkerin’ down".

Lovato spoke about the new song and its conception in a recent candid interview with CNN, saying, “There's been so many times that I've wanted to write the President a letter or sit down with him and ask him these questions.” The singer noted, "And then I thought, I don't really actually want to do that and I thought one way that I could do that is writing a song and releasing it for the whole world to hear and then he has to answer those questions to everyone and not just me."

TMZ reached out to NBC, but they haven’t commented yet. But social media was abuzz discussing the allegations. One said, “Can we talk about how the NBC Network and the social media are trying to censored Demi Lovato new single "Commander In Chief" and her lately perform at #BBMAs? #BillboardMusicAwards STOP CENSORING ARTIST VOICES.” Another user commented, “@nbc @NBCNews had the nerve to censor Demi Lovato’s performance today! They censored out the VOTE message at the end! Wow, strike 2 @NBCNews @nbc #BoycottNBC.” A user questioned, “Ummm @nbc! Seriously? You know Demi Lovato was THEE performance of the night!”

A user alleged, “You cant hide demi from whats rights!!! She gonna still speak tf UP! This is my idol who saved my life! VOTE VOTE #Election2020 #ddlovato @ddlovato so who ever tryied too sillanced demi you wont succed only becuse the vote part was left out! @nbc is trumpster.” A fan declared, “You’re disgusting for cutting out Demi.” One concluded, “This is a violation of freedom of speech, Demi Lovato had every right to share her message. But we all know why NBC did this.” One commented, “It doesn’t surprise me about nbc and now twitter acting shady, this just shows they don’t like the truth and that demi has more power than she’s given credit for.” A fan requested, “Hey @nbc I would like to watch Demi Lovato's live performance of #CommanderInChief, the one with the gigantic VOTE signals that you cut at the end... Thank you.”

These remarks were made by the Internet and individual organizations, MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and nor does it support these claims being made on the Internet.