JoJo Siwa is spilling the tea on how her big reveal as gay turned her career upside down like a piñata at a kid’s party.
Our favorite “Guilty Pleasure” pop princess made waves in January 2021 when she came out by belting out Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” and flaunting a shirt that screamed, “Best. Gay. Cousin. Ever.” Nothing says “I’m fabulous” like a personalized shirt, right?
At the time, JoJo was practically glued to Nickelodeon, with her face plastered on everything from lunchboxes to TV shows. But hold onto your glitter, because things took a nosedive faster than a sequined dress in a rainstorm.
In a juicy new interview for the documentary Child Star, JoJo dishes that after her big reveal, she got a call from Nickelodeon’s top banana, Brian Robbins. Picture this: Brian Robbins, in all his corporate glory, saying, “What are we going to tell the kids?” To which JoJo cheekily replied, “That I’m happy?”
Robbins apparently needed her to do some serious PR gymnastics, instructing her to reassure every store selling JoJo Siwa gear that she wasn’t having a mid-life crisis at 17. Classic corporate maneuvering.
JoJo claims that after this call, Nickelodeon treated her like she’d just dropped a pie in their lap. “I basically got blackballed,” she said. Nickelodeon, however, is sticking to their “no blackballing” mantra, insisting they’re still on Team JoJo, even going so far as to support a JoJo-themed Pride collection. They’re like, “We love JoJo, promise. Cross our heart.”
These days, JoJo says she’d handle it all differently. “If my label’s president called now and was like, ‘What the heck?’ I’d be all, ‘OMG, I’m so sorry! I’ll go back in the closet, pretend it was a prank, or even get a boyfriend!’” But back then, she was all like, “I’m in love and happy—deal with it!”
Then came the plot twist of 2022: JoJo was a no-show at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards. Her reason? “I didn’t get an invite.” Oops, my bad, said Nickelodeon, calling it an “honest mistake.” Sure, because forgetting to send an invite to JoJo Siwa is totally a regular Wednesday.
JoJo’s glittery career took some unexpected turns, but she’s still shining bright like a disco ball.
