Posters promoting Demi Lovato‘s newest album, Holy Fvck, have been banned in the United Kingdom with the provocative visual being deemed potentially offensive to Christians.
Great Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority announced the decision on Wednesday (Jan. 11) after starting an investigation into the promo material that started popping up all over London. Four people ultimately complained to the watchdog group about the posters’ content, which featured the album’s subversive cover art, according to a report by CNN.
“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 offense to Christians,” the ASA said in a statement about its decision.
Billboard has reached out to Lovato for comment.
The singer herself had previously wondered how the album could be promoted on radio and in the press when she chose the name of the album. “I remember being the one asking questions, like, ‘Am I gonna be able to say this? And what do I say instead?’” the singer recalled in a July interview with SiriusXM. “And it’s just like, look, it’s f–king rock n’ roll. They’ll bleep you if they need to and, like, if they don’t, even better.”
At the time of its release, Holy Fvck debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 and has spawned singles “Skin of My Teeth,” “Substance” and “29.” It also bowed at No. 1 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums and Top Alternative Albums, earning Lovato their first chart-topping hat trick on those three tallies.
See Lovato’s album cover image below:
