Demi Lovato’s album poster was pulled from British billboards after the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) deemed it likely to cause “serious offense” to Christians.
The racy, bondage-Esque poster, which promoted the singer’s new album “Holy Fvck” in the UK, began to pop up across London last summer.
It didn’t take long for advertising regulators to take notice of the content, and subsequently, take action to have the posters removed.
In Demi Lovato’s album poster, the “Cool For The Summer” hitmaker wears a bondage outfit while laying on a cross. The steamy snap is accompanied by the album title.
In ASA’s official ruling, the watchdog concluded that the poster is likely to insult Christian viewers due to its sexualization of religion.
The ASA added that the album titled “Holy Fvck” was also likely to offend some.
They described Lovato in the image as “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.”
The advertising regulator argued that “together with the reference to Holy Fvck“ was likely to be viewed as linking sexuality to the sacred symbol of the crucifix and the crucifixion and “was likely to cause serious offense to Christians.”
“We, therefore, concluded the ad breached the Code,” the ASA added.
Lovato’s music label, Polydor Records, defended the poster, saying they don’t believe it has any offensive undertones to it.
The label added that it received approval for the poster prior to its release, according to ASA’s statement.
It also told the ASA that the posters were only up for four days and were removed promptly on August 23.
The ASA has warned Polydor Records that the poster must not appear again.
“We told Universal Music Operations to ensure their ads did not cause serious or widespread offense in future,” their statement concluded.