Demi Lovato: Calling extraterrestrials ‘aliens’ is ‘derogatory’

Extraterrestrials, martians, little green people - call them whatever you want, aside from “aliens”.

Demi Lovato said we should stop calling our intergalactic neighbours “aliens” because it’s a “derogatory” term.

The 29-year-old musician’s comments follow the release of a new four-episode docuseries, Unidentified with Demi Lovato, in which they investigate UFOs alongside their sister Dallas Leigh Lovato and friend Matthew Scott Montgomery.

The 29-year-old musician told Pedestrian TV: "I think that we have to stop calling them aliens because aliens is a derogatory term for anything. That’s why I like to call them ETs!”

Lovato has believed in extraterrestrials for their entire life and said that creating the investigative series was a natural next step in their career.

Lovato said “something happened” in every city they went to, but it wasn’t all extraterrestrial - some of it was paranormal. They teased that, in episode two, we’ll see what spooky occurrences the crew experienced in Vulture City.

Should we be afraid of them? No, Lovato said. The notion that extraterrestrials want to come and take over the planet is a negative stereotype that bothers Lovato. After all, popular culture is full of references to green men who wish to colonise our planet.

“I think that, if there were beings that could harm us, we would have been gone a long time ago. I also think that if there are civilisations that are of consciousness in other dimensions, which has given them the technology to be able to travel through space, I think that they are looking for nothing but peaceful encounters and interactions because like I said, if they wanted us gone, we would have been gone a long time ago!” they said.

After Lovato’s comments went viral, people took to Twitter to share their thoughts.

Some agreed with Lovato and gave further context around how the term “alien” can also be used towards migrants:

Some Twitter users scoffed at the singer’s comments:

Their comments also inspired lots of memes imagining how extraterrestrials would be reacting to Lovato, with some believing Lovato could be an advocate for the human race if (or when) they finally visit earth:

The word “alien” has been subject to earthly controversy, too.

In September a new law was signed in California that would see all references to immigrants as “aliens” abandoned. Gov. Gavin Newsom said it is “an offensive term for a human being” that has fueled a “divisive and hurtful narrative”.

In April, US president Joe Biden ordered federal immigration agencies to also stop using the term.

Speaking ahead of Biden’s orders to officially strike out the usage of the term in US immigration law, Jose Antonio Vargas, founder of Define American said: "How we describe people really sticks. It affects how we treat them. How we talk about immigrants shapes the policies.

“It frames what are the issues really at stake here. It acknowledges that we’re talking about human beings and families."

The term “alien” previously referred to a person who is not a citizen or a national of the US.

Although we don’t know if extraterrestrials have a preference, at least if they ever visit they’ll know we’re considerate and want them to feel welcome.