Demi Lovato Adds Anti-Bullying Campaign To Her Current Work

Demi Lovato has really been working this whole comeback thing, and, after a few setbacks (including a stint in rehab), the former Disney star is back with a judging role on the X-Factor alongside Britney Spears and Simon Cowell — but she still has found some time to give back.

Demi Lovato’s earlier breakdown was, she said, in part due to social pressures. (And allegedly precipitated by a meltdown sparked by a Jonas brother breakup and his subsequent relationship with the girl from Twilight. No, not Kristen Stewart, the other one.) Lovato has since advocated for a better culture for impressionable young girls, decrying the ugly narrative that exists for them even at a young age about looks and weight.

On one of her first comeback appearances, Demi Lovato told Ellen DeGeneres:

“There was nobody out there for me to look at and say, maybe this is unhealthy. Maybe starving myself isn’t the answer. So I want to be that for a 13-year-old girl at home deciding whether or not to eat dinner, or an 18-year-old deciding whether or not to keep her breakfast down. There needs to be a role model out there, and for the first time in my life, I actually feel like one.”

But Lovato isn’t one of the Mean Girls, and she’s even participating in a campaign to encourage a positive dialogue for young women. Of her own experiences with bullying, the star says:

“I had a really tough time when I was in middle school. People would write hate petitions and send them around to be signed. They’d have CD-bashing parties of my demos. They’d come to my house, stand across the street and yell things. It was a very emotional time for me.”

Lovato visited the Young Women’s Leadership School Thursday as part of the “Mean Stinks” campaign, suggesting teen girls paint their pinky fingernails blue in support of a Drama Free School Year.

Of the blue nails, Demi says:

“It’s a conversation starter: ‘Hey, why is your pinky blue?’ ‘This is a pinky promise that I’m not going to bully people.'”

Okay, Demi Lovato, totes cute. You can support the efforts of stars like Demi Lovato by liking the anti-bullying page on Facebook.