Children’s entertainer JoJo Siwa is rebranding herself and it’s not going well.
In recent years, the former child star has grown up, come out and is now attempting to swap her squeaky clean image for something more mature.
The rebranding has become one of the internet’s biggest talking points, but it’s her recent comments about “inventing gay pop” that’s caused the biggest stir.
If you’re wondering who the heck JoJo Siwa is and why she is all over the internet, sit back and let us explain what is going on.
Who is JoJo Siwa and what did she say?
Siwa has been in the entertainment game for 10 years.
She rose to fame on the hit TV show Dance Moms in 2014 and was known for being extremely extroverted on the show.
After Dance Moms, she went on to make music, with her debut single Boomerang in 2016.
For years, Siwa was known as the girl with the bow in her hair, who made music for young children to sing and dance to.
She was every parent’s nightmare as her music was repetitive and catchy, so it was always stuck in your head.
Siwa has been trending online since she released her song Karma, trying to break away from the narrative that she only makes music for children.
In an interview with US entertainment site Billboard earlier this month, the now-20-year-old claimed she invented gay pop.
On Thursday (local time), Siwa clarified her comments and said she didn’t invent gay pop and many musicians have made music in that particular genre before her.
“Madonna, Lady Gaga, f***ing Michael Jackson. There’s so many people who have made gay pop,” Siwa said in a TikTok posted by TMZ.
How have people reacted?
Although the 20-year-old has taken back her comments saying she invented the genre, it wasn’t before she was met with a lot of backlash by other queer artists.
They included Tegan and Sara, who stitched the interview clip of Siwa claiming she invented it.
Despite not saying anything in the video, people could pick up what the musicians were putting down, considering they have been making gay pop music for over 20 years.
Many people on X, formerly known as Twitter, were quick to catch Siwa out on her comments by adding images of popular queer musicians.
Someone on X was also quick to point out that Siwa wasn’t the only child star to rebrand herself and come out, referencing former Disney Channel star Dove Cameron.
What is gay pop and why did JoJo Siwa claim she invented it?
Gay pop is a genre of music made by queer artists, for queer artists.
It is for people who are a part of the LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex and Asexual/Aromantic) community.
There are many queer artists who have been making music for decades, including Chappell Roan, Hayley Kiyoko, Kehlani, Fletcher and G Flip.
As Siwa is trying to move away from her child-friendly image, she is saying some outlandish things, including saying she has invented gay pop.
In her interview with TMZ, Siwa clarified she didn’t invent gay pop and would like to be the CEO or the CMO of the music genre.
From children’s entertainer to internet sensation
The internet sensation is attempting to do what singer Miley Cyrus did when she performed at the 2013 Video Music Awards (VMAS).
In 2013, Cyrus came out on stage twerking and sticking her tongue out at the VMAs and had almost everyone wanting to have their say on the child star’s remake of her image.
In her interview with Alex Cooper, who hosts the podcast Call Her Daddy, Siwa said: “When I was eight [years old], Miley had her Bangerz moment and I was like, ‘All I want is to have that one day.’ I want that’.”
Bangerz was Cyrus’s fourth album and featured her famous hit Wrecking Ball.
Unfortunately for Siwa, her latest music video, for her song Karma, went viral for all the wrong reasons.
Despite it having over 18 million views on YouTube, people on the internet judged her for attempting to make something that was edgy, when it came across as if a child had discovered swear words for the first time.
As almost no stone gets left unturned when something is released on the internet, people also discovered Siwa’s latest song was recorded in 2012 and was set to be released by musicians Brit Smith and Timbaland, under the title Karma’s a b****.
What’s next for JoJo Siwa?
Siwa has kept tight-lipped about what is next for her music career but she has said she is ready to start a family soon.
In the same interview with Cooper, Siwa says she wants three kids called Freddy, Eddie and Teddy and already has a sperm donor picked out.
She hasn’t talked about what her next song will be but if it is similar to Karma, it will have everyone singing along, whether we like it or not.
Love her or hate her, the 20-year-old has everyone on the internet talking and watching her every move.