Fans Take Disney to Task for Excluding Their Favorite Star in Celebratory Video

Disney has been on the receiving end of much criticism for many decisions they’ve made recently; now, there’s another criticism to add to the list. For the last few months now, Disney has been making headlines for their feud with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, for their casting decisions in both The Little Mermaid and Peter Pan and Wendy—some Disney fans are not happy to see Halle Bailey play Princess Ariel and Yara Shahidi play Tinker Bell—and now, for their ostensible exclusion of a popular former Disney star in a recently celebratory video.

Recently, the Disney Channel celebrated its 40th anniversary. Over the last 40 years, the network has created many hit series like That’s So Raven, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Hannah Montana, Sonny With a Chance, and a ton of Disney Channel exclusive movies as well, all of which have had fans coming back to Disney for years. Many Disney fans (including this writer) often go back to their favorite Disney Channel shows for the nostalgia factor and as a reminder of a simpler time.

Nothing is as iconic as the Disney Channel wand ID, where a star would use the Disney wand to create the Disney Channel logo. And recently, to kick off the 40th anniversary celebrations, Disney Channel shared a compilation thread of many former Disney stars wand IDs.

Would it even be a #DisneyChannel40 kick-off without a wand ID compilation 😍 pic.twitter.com/o7DipCHM3s

— Disney Channel (@DisneyChannel) April 1, 2023

Related: Former Disney Star Reveals Disney’s Horrifying Cover Up

However, one very important former Disney star was missing from the lineup: Demi Lovato. Many fans were shocked and unhappy to note that Demi was excluded from the compilation thread and took it upon themselves to add the Disney star to the list.

You're welcome. 🤍 pic.twitter.com/nzQMWagLNL

— Demi Lovato Brasil (@demilovatobr) April 6, 2023

Others even told Disney to “put some respect” on Demi’s name, standing up for the star.

demi lovato was the reason i started watching disney channel in the first place so they better put some respect on their name pic.twitter.com/FZwnoQptrM

— axl (@hobivato) April 6, 2023

Of course, it’s worth noting that Lovato is not the only star to be excluded. Hilary Duff, the Sprouse twins, and Bella Thorne were also not in the compilation thread, however, Demi Lovato—as fans pointed out—has given a lot of their time to Disney Channel with hits like Sonny With a Chance, Camp Rock and more, and certainly deserves recognition for the same.

Lovato has spoken out a lot in the past years about some difficult interactions and experiences on the Disney Channel, so some fans are wondering if this is a “punishment” of sorts; however, Selena Gomez, Dove Cameron and others have done the same and were included in the video.

While it’s not clear why Lovato was excluded to begin with, here’s hoping it’s because they’re giving Lovato her rightful due.