If you're unfamiliar with Demi Lovato's twin sister, Poot, maybe you've been locked in a basement or something. Poot also spent her entire life underground before she went outside in early October -- and became an instant Internet sensation.
Okay, so, she's not actually real. But Poot is very real to the teenagers who turned an unflattering picture of Lovato into a strange meme. Now Demi has spoken out about the phenomenon -- and she's not very pleased. That, or Poot is real and Lovato is horrified that the family secret got out.
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It all started, as these things do, on Tumblr, when user Cstcrpt -- who has since deleted his or her account -- posted a photo of Lovato that hadn't exactly been taken from a forgiving angle.
"Demi’s twin sister. She was locked in a basement her whole life," Ctscrpt wrote. "This picture was taken the first time she went outside. Her name is Poot.”
my name is poot lovato and this is my story pic.twitter.com/qsX1kb2GDO— Poot Lovato (@OfficialPoot) October 12, 2015
Shortly after, someone began tweeting from Poot Lovato's point of view. The account is not verified, so it's impossible to tell whether or not the real Poot is behind it.
I have been hiding for a long time in demi's basement but it's my time to shine. I am poot— Poot Lovato (@OfficialPoot) October 13, 2015
whys my sis demi pretending i dont exist? whys she bein fake?— Poot Lovato (@OfficialPoot) October 17, 2015
Much of Poot's lingo, which is often unsavory when not outright cruel, comes from yet another Demi Lovato meme from 2014 about a fake fan encounter in which Lovato allegedly ridiculed a fan about her weight, "flicked [her] vagina," then harassed her online. (Lovato has denied the incident.)
Lovato's pal Iggy Azeala was amused by the twisted fan fiction of the earlier meme, and even expanded her already eloquent vocabulary to include the meme's catchphrases.
i can't lie "delete it fat" and "vagina flick" are now parts of my official vocab.— IGGY AZALEA (@IGGYAZALEA) December 10, 2014
What we do know is that the people wanted more Poot -- adopting the hashtag #JusticeForPoot among others.
@OfficialPoot I'm crying and I can't believe this pic.twitter.com/9b1cXjBMFu— gay werewolf (@Wolveeeeees) October 25, 2015
Someone even started writing Poot Lovato fanfiction, in which Poot seeks revenge on Demi's former BFF Selena Gomez for bullying her in school, on Wattpad.
This excerpt is about as SFW as the fanfic gets.
On Sunday, Demi tweeted -- and then deleted -- a response to the meme. Cosmo screencapped the messages before they were removed from Twitter.
Though it's easy to see why she wouldn't be totally psyched about the meme, many Lovatics hoped Demi would have fun with the joke -- much like she did when a reporter asked her what her favorite dish is and she answered by saying, "mugs."
SHE SAID A MUG I'M FUCKING CRYING pic.twitter.com/fSgwBBo8Qv— ️ (@naturalIy) September 12, 2015
For anybody who actually thinks I misunderstood the "favorite dish" question - you clearly don't get my sense of humor — Demi Lovato (@ddlovato) September 13, 2015
But to be fair, the Internet really Poot Demi between a rock and a hard place.