Demi Lovato is exploring what might live beyond Earth in a new docuseries, and in doing so, is setting the record straight on what the appropriate phrases are that people should use when speaking about extraterrestrials.
"I think that we have to stop calling them aliens because aliens is a derogatory term for anything," Lovato, who came out as nonbinary earlier this year, said during an interview with Pedestrian.TV. "That's why I like to call them ETs."
The term "aliens" is considered offensive to some, and is often used to describe illegal immigrants. California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom, who said the term "fueled a divisive and hurtful narrative," signed a law in September that removes the word from various sections of the California state code, according to the Associated Press. The word is replaced with terms like "noncitizen" or "immigrant."
Aside from the term "aliens," Lovato also dismisses other stereotypes about extraterrestrials.
"I think the ones that bother me are that they're harmful or that they'll come and take over the planet," she said. "I really think that if there was anything out there that would want to do that to us, it would have happened by now."
Later in the interview, Lovato gave even more insight into extraterrestrials.
"I also think that if there are civilizations that are of consciousness in other dimensions, which has given them the technology to be able to travel through space," she said. "I think that they are looking for nothing but peaceful encounters and interactions."
Lovato added, "What if they're waiting for us? What if that’s what they're waiting on?"
Lovato's four-part docuseries, "Unidentified with Demi Lovato," first started streaming on Peacock on Sept. 30.