Siwa’s career has definitely been an interesting one. It started when she was just 10 years old as the youngest contestant on the second season of Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition—which later led her to appear with her mom on Dance Moms. When she was 13, Siwa began to release her own pop music, which was very well-received among young children and teens. Her appearance was also a key element in her success, as the various colorful bows she adorned in her hair became her trademark as a young pop star. In 2021, the young singer came out on social media as a lesbian and was highly supported by the media and her fans. She was on track to become an iconic pop star and an inspiration to her many young fans.
However, similar to other young pop stars idolized by children and teens, once Siwa reached adulthood, she decided it was time for a rebrand. Her journey pivoted from a harmless child star to an attention seeker with a track record of controversial headlines to her name.
If you were online this time last year, it was hard to miss Jojo’s attempt at rebranding, since it was absolutely everywhere. In April of 2024, Jojo released her single “Karma,” which forever changed the way the public views her, inside and out. Remember that sweet little girl with the rainbow-colored bows? She’s gone now, replaced by a scary-looking “rockstar,” yearning for a big change. The song and the aesthetic rebrand were accompanied by a ridiculous music video and quite a lot of embarrassing interviews. Leading Siwa to become a viral meme all over the internet. In an interview with Billboard, she expressed a desire to, "start a new genre of music ... It's called gay pop.” A statement that was definitely not well-received, since there have been many beloved gay pop stars throughout history already. In a span of a month, Siwa managed to anger her devoted fans, the gay community, and a whole lot of people on the internet who were forced to watch as her “Karma” dance started trending on TikTok (mainly meant to mock her).
Whether or not Siwa was aware of the mockery online, it remains unclear. For a while after the release of her song, Siwa continued to behave like her rebranding was the most innovative thing a pop star has ever done in history. Her actions online only made people villainize her even further.
Alongside her music career, Siwa’s relationships also got their own spotlights throughout the years. While the people she dated were mostly not celebrities like her, their names are now forever attached to Siwa’s. It started with Mark Bontempo, continued on to Kylie Prew (after Siwa came out), followed by Katie Mills, influencers Avery Cyrus, Dakayla Wilson, Kath Ebbs, and last but not least, her fellow Big Brother contestant, Chris Hughes. In the past few months, her last two partners became a hot topic while filming Celebrity Big Brother UK. She was unafraid to use the show’s audience to create yet another storm around herself.
Siwa was dating Ebbs months before she went on Big Brother, and was still dating her when she was shown cuddling Hughes at the Big Brother house in April. Siwa and Ebbs broke up at the show’s wrap party, which Siwa claimed was completely unplanned. Then, on June 1st, right as Pride month started, Chris Hughes shared a new photo with JoJo, confirming their relationship is, “not platonic anymore“—much to the surprise of the entire LGBTQ+ community who fully believed, up until then, that Siwa was 100% lesbian.
Many have criticized the pop star for her ill-timed announcement. However, as we look back on her history, it is clear that she was an easy target to be labeled as a classic villain. Instead of continuing the legacy she initially acquired as a queer young pop star who was thought to be using her fame to help young children be seen and heard, her platform is now used to create scandals that put her back in the spotlight.
But is she really that different from other young stars who came before her? Looking back at Miley Cyrus’ career, for example, her controversy and crash-out in her early 20s were not that different. It seems like Siwa was almost trying to copy Cyrus’ journey, in an attempt to find attention, even if it is not a positive one.
Is JoJo Siwa deserving of our attention? To be honest, no.
Siwa is just another 22-year-old who was forced to grow up in the public eye. Her reckless decisions as a young adult should not be of interest to any of us, just as none of us would want to be judged by the decisions we made at that age. As annoying as she may be, Siwa deserves the space to find herself. If we stop giving her the attention she craves, maybe she’ll stop doing stupid things to get it. If we follow this route, in a few years, she will either be yet another long-forgotten pop star with a few hits to her name, or she will actually manage to change the narrative around herself and create a career she will be genuinely proud of. In the meantime, since she is so interested in “Karma,” maybe it’s time she actually experiences a dose.
