Demi Lovato album poster banned in Britain

Jan. 12 (UPI) -- Demi Lovato's album poster for her new release has been banned in Britain as it was deemed potentially offensive to Christians.

Britain's Advertising Standards Authority says that Lovato's provocative imagery and album title could be misconstrued as blasphemous. The initial ad was placed in six areas around London in August 2022.

Lovato's album, released in August, is entitled Holy Fvck, and therein lies the issue. The ASA says most will confuse the title with its more profane version. The album's subject matter deals candidly with Lovato's admitted mental health and addiction struggles.

In shades of a similar controversy over music and imagery for Madonna's Like a Virgin project in the 80s, the ASA questioned whether the poster was appropriate for all ages and whether or not it mocked Christian beliefs.

"We considered that the image of Ms. Lovato bound up in a bondage-style outfit whilst lying on a mattress shaped like a crucifix, in a position with her legs bound to one side which was reminiscent of Christ on the cross, together with the reference to 'holy fvck,' which in that context was likely to be viewed as linking sexuality to the sacred symbol of the crucifix and the crucifixion, was likely to cause serious offence to Christians."

Polydor, the British imprint of Lovato's American record label Universal Records says that they asked the U.K. agency working with them to make sure the imagery would stand and got their approval beforehand.

The posters did register four complaints and were removed after four days. The ASA asked Polydor/Universal to ensure that future ad campaigns were evaluated thoroughly to ensure they were not going to be viewed as offensive.

Holy Fvck is Lovato's eighth album. The former Disney star, who uses the pronouns she and they after coming out as pansexual and non-binary, said last year that she embraced the dark themes on the album.

"You can't have light without dark," she told the Los Angeles Times. "The dichotomy was really important to me, and I had to take my anger out of the shadows in order to heal. I am owning my dark side, and it doesn't have to take me down."