Pop singer Demi Lovato promoted to BJJ Purple Belt

Demi Lovato just announced that she’s now a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

The pop singer is one of the many celebrities who practice the gentle art. She flaunted her latest promotion to her millions of social media followers.

Lovato posted a picture of her holding the belt on her socials.

She excitedly wrote, “YALL I’M A PURPLE BELT!!!!!!!!!”

Lovato started training in the grappling art back in 2016 after struggling with a host of issues including as depression. The martial art helped her get back on track and also taught her some valuable self-defense skills.

She said she “got into jiu-jitsu because [she] loved watching people grapple,” and because she thinks “it’s really cool to learn something that helps you with self-defense.”

She did take a break from practicing BJJ back in 2018 due to some personal problems but returned due to her love for it.

The former Grammy award nominee got her blue belt after just a year of training from Orlando Sanchez of Gracie Barra. She took private sessions and reportedly trained for two hours every day — up to four days a week.

Sanchez received criticism for promoting Lovato in such a short time span to blue belt. However, he still stood by her and told the naysayers that she deserved it.

Lovato, along with many others in the combat sports game, experienced a huge setback after his death. She wrote a heartfelt note for the former world champion on social media:

“RIP Buddy… thank you for introducing me to BJJ and being such a great instructor/friend. I’ll always remember our training and great times on the road together.”

Lovato parted ways with another of her coaches after her near death experience some years back.

The pop singer has been mentioned in other combat sports-related headlines as well.

She once caused a fuss online after a video of her sparring with Sylvester Stallone and knocking him out was posted online. Sly later revealed that the clip was a staged one. She also famously dated former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold and one of Bellator’s finest.