The JoJo Siwa “Gay Pop” Controversy, Explained

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JoJo Siwa is lighting the gay internet aflame. In case you missed it, the Dance Moms star-turned-influencer is rebranding, leaving behind the bubbly persona and colorful costumes of her youth and embracing an edgier, more rock-and-roll tone. Last week she dropped the song “Karma” (and a video in which her new Kiss-inspired look and humping were heavily featured). In the days since the video has been out, she’s also made some questionable comments about her mission as a gay musician, and people have been quick to correct her. Read on for all you need to know about Siwa’s new era, her statements on “gay pop,” and what Miley Cyrus has to do with all this.

Hasn’t JoJo Siwa been doing music for a while now?

Yes, but she’s entering a new era, complete with a separate Spotify artist profile to differentiate her new output from her work for kids. On April 5, the former Dance Moms star dropped “Karma,” an EDM-inspired single complete with a very glossy music video. In line with the typical cycle of a former child star, it seems as though Siwa is attempting an edgy rebrand in the same vein as Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato.

What did JoJo Siwa say about “gay pop”?

In an interview with Billboard, Siwa said that she was “so excited to bring this version of pop music back.” She elaborated that in a conversation with her record label, she said that she wanted to “start a new genre of music.” When they asked what she meant, Siwa responded, “Well, it’s called gay pop.”

If you watch past that decontextualized snippet, Siwa cites some examples of the sort of “gay pop” that she’s trying to bring back, such as “Applause” by Lady Gaga and “Can’t Be Tamed” by Miley Cyrus. But because this is the internet, that short clip of her saying that she wanted to “start a new genre of music… called gay pop” quickly began making the rounds.

How did people react to her “gay pop” comment?

Not kindly! On TikTok, Tegan and Sara, longtime innovators of gay pop, stitched Billboard’s video with a silent reaction of them simply standing there, which speaks for itself. Charli XCX posted a TikTok of her dancing and lipsyncing to the song, with the (seemingly ironic) caption, “gay pop!” Out and Autostraddle published lists compiling the many examples of “gay pop” that came before Siwa. And of course, the site formerly known as “Gay Twitter” lit up with jokes immediately.

How did JoJo Siwa respond to the backlash?

In an interview with TMZ, Siwa clarified that she did not actually mean that she invented gay pop. “I think I just wanna make it more clear that gay pop is a genre,” she said. “If I said to somebody name a gay pop artist, they’d go, ‘What’s gay pop?’” When the interviewer pushed back and said that people might name Lady Gaga, Chappell Roan, or Elton John, Siwa conceded, “Okay that’s valid, ‘cuz I would too.”

She further clarified that she wants to “bring more attention” to gay pop, adding, “I’m not the creator, I’m not the president, but I might be the CEO, or the CMO.”

Fans theorized that this morning’s 4.8 magnitude earthquake had something to do with the power of her new video release.

What are people saying about JoJo Siwa and Miley Cyrus?

TikTok sleuths have speculated that “Karma” was originally intended as a song for Miley Cyrus. One TikToker found tweets from 2012 that seemed to indicate Cyrus collaborating with Timbaland and Rock Mafia, the latter of whom is credited on Siwa’s new single.

Another TikToker found an unreleased version of “Karma” by singer Brit Smith from 2012. The production on Smith’s is more reminiscent of the electroclash sound that was popular at the time, whereas the production on Siwa’s version is slightly more “H&M fitting room” vibes, but the songs are indeed basically identical in terms of the lyrics and the melody. Although TikTokers have accused Siwa of being “messy” for supposedly “stealing” the song, artists recording demos that might later be reused by another artist is a fairly common practice within pop music. Siwa might be messy for other reasons, but not this one.

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Originally Appeared on them.