Demi Lovato in Jerusalem in September 2019. Photo: Instagram.

American singer, songwriter and actress Demi Lovato issued an apology on Wednesday to those “hurt or offended” by her recent trip to Israel, after she faced backlash from social media users for visiting the Jewish state.

Lovato, 27, shared on Tuesday photos and details of her “magical” journey to Israel on Instagram, and was immediately harassed by social media users who wrote, “Don’t get it twisted, it’s PALESTINE!” and said the singer was “completely ignoring the occupation and dehumanization of the Palestinian people.” Others expressed disappointment in Lovato and accused her of promoting or supporting Israel in the conflict with the Palestinians.

The bullying and harassment continued until Lovato on Tuesday night disabled comments on her Instagram posts related to her trip to Israel.

She then explained in a now-deleted, lengthy post shared to her Instagram story that she felt “extremely frustrated” by the controversy surrounding her trip. She said, “I accepted a free trip to Israel in exchange for a few posts. No one told me there would be anything wrong with going or that I could possibly be offending anyone. With that being said, I’m sorry if I’ve hurt or offended anyone, that was not my intention.”

Lovato added that no one warned her about the “potential backlash” that she might face because of her visit to Israel, emphasizing, “This was meant to be a spiritual experience for me, NOT A POLITICAL STATEMENT and now I realize it hurt people and for that I’m sorry.”

The singer also told her fans, “Sorry I’m not more educated, and sorry for thinking this trip was just a spiritual experience.”

She concluded by stating that she was “going against all advice” by addressing the backlash directly and apologizing “because it feels right to me and I’d rather get in trouble for being authentic to myself than staying quiet to please other people. I love my fans, all of them, from all over the world.”

Photo: Screenshot/Instagram.