Demi Lovato just brought one of the internet’s most notorious pop-culture curiosities out of hiding for Halloween, and the results are delightfully on-brand. The 34-year-old singer took to Instagram to debut a pitch-perfect transformation into Poot — the viral alter ego that exploded online in 2015 — complete with pale makeup, stark lighting, and the unmistakable angle that launched a thousand memes.
Lovato leaned into the bit with a caption nodding to her new album, writing that she’s been so locked into her current era that she decided to let “pootvato” out for the occasion. It’s a wink to It’s Not That Deep, her freshly released ninth studio album, and a sign of just how comfortable she is steering the narrative with humor and self-awareness.
Poot Lovato: The Meme That Wouldn’t Die
For anyone who missed the original meme wave, Poot Lovato began as a tongue-in-cheek Tumblr post in 2015, when a washed-out, low-angle photo of Lovato circulated with a fanciful backstory about a secret twin who had been “locked in a basement her whole life.” The image and its lore caught fire across social media, turning Poot into an instant internet legend — and a persistent in-joke that followed Lovato for years.
At the time, the singer admitted the meme’s rise came with mixed feelings. “When Poot went viral, that actually sucked because I thought that was a real picture of me,” Lovato told Harper’s BAZAAR. “And I was like, ‘Oh, no. That’s a really bad angle.’ But Poot was photoshopped. Later, I felt better about it because I realized that wasn’t my face.”
Lovato has since found the humor in the whole saga. Reflecting on the phenomenon, she acknowledged that while the moment felt strange in real time, it’s now something she can laugh about: “It was definitely weird when it went viral,” she said, adding that “it’s really funny to look back on.”
Her 2024 Halloween post doubles down on that perspective. By reclaiming the meme on her own terms — costume, pose, and all — Lovato turns a once-awkward internet episode into a playful footnote in her ongoing pop timeline.
From Viral Joke To Self-Aware Costume
Lovato’s Poot revival didn’t come completely out of nowhere. Earlier this year, she teased the character’s return on TikTok with a lip-sync gag captioned, “When someone asks me to let Poot out of the basement…” and a deadpan mouth of, “Wow, what an offer.” She punctuated the bit with a firm stance at the time: “And I’m never letting her out.”
Cut to Halloween, and the singer has done exactly that — at least for one night. The carefully crafted look channels the original meme’s eerie aesthetic while framing it as a lighthearted, wink-to-the-fans moment. It’s a savvy cultural callback for a star who knows how to command a social feed, but it’s also a clear statement: Lovato can revisit an old joke without letting it define her.
It helps that Poot’s reappearance arrives during a creative high. Aligning the costume reveal with her current album era underscores how Lovato is balancing nostalgia, humor, and forward momentum — a combination that keeps her presence both familiar and fresh.
Inside Lovato’s New Era: It’s Not That Deep
Lovato’s Halloween fun dovetails with the celebratory tone of It’s Not That Deep, released as her ninth studio set. “With this album, I wanted it to be more celebratory,” she told Good Morning America’s Nightline. “I wanted people to have fun listening to it because I’m in a place in my life today where I’m having fun.”
The album marks a shift away from the heavier themes that have defined portions of Lovato’s past work, embracing bright, hooky textures and a looser, more confident vibe. It reflects an artist who’s clearly comfortable in her skin — which makes the decision to resurrect Poot as a playful nod to her internet history feel even more fitting.
Lovato has also been candid about the real-life inspiration fueling this chapter. She credits husband Jordan Lutes (professionally known as Jutes), whom she married in May, as a key influence in the album’s buoyant sound. “Falling in love with him changed my sound,” she explained. “I was like, I’m gonna go make another rock album and as I was making it I was like, wait, I’m really happy.”
That happiness radiates throughout the current era — in the music, in the visuals, and now in a Halloween post that turns a once-exasperating meme into a victory lap. The Poot costume isn’t just a joke; it’s a well-timed reminder that Lovato’s relationship to her past can be playful, even as she pushes ahead.
It’s a smart move from a performer who understands the rhythms of internet culture and how to subvert them. By engaging with a meme that once felt out of her control, Lovato flips the script and underscores the point of It’s Not That Deep: joy, levity, and self-possession can coexist with pop ambition.
As the Halloween post continues to rack up attention, it reads less like a throwaway gag and more like a thesis statement for where Lovato stands in 2024. She’s laughing at the joke, but she’s also directing it — a reminder that sometimes the best way to defang a meme is to own it.
Whether Poot makes another cameo remains to be seen, but for now, the character’s unexpected return is doing exactly what great pop culture moments do: sparking conversation, delighting fans, and adding one more memorable beat to Demi Lovato’s evolving story.
