Jojo Siwa. Do we love her or hate her? The public’s views on this peppy celebrity seem to be forever changing. 

The child star has been a controversial topic since the very start of her popularity. She started off her career as yet another participant in Dance Moms and grew to become a well-known star. She has won many awards including the Nickelodeon’s Kids Choice Award in 2017 and Favorite Musical YouTube Creator in 2018. Despite her many accomplishments, the world has trouble viewing her as a true pop star. The hate she receives began in childhood and continues today. 

“My way or the highway” is a phrase known by millions and comes from the reality series Dance Moms, the show that skyrocketed Jojo Siwa to her journey toward success. It was no easy start, the young star was judged for her “girliness” by her peers, and she was bullied for being a stereotypical girly-girl. The show was edited to twist her words, and in a Youtube video made by Jojo Siwa herself, she claims that “Pretty much every episode, there was a whole different thing going on that was just edited to look like something else.” Despite being bullied, Jojo Siwa kept being her happy self and started a music career. She gained popularity thanks to younger audiences, though many judged her for behaving childishly.

Jojo Siwa has been leaving hints about her sexuality since January 2021. She posted a Twitter post of her wearing a shirt with the words “Best. Gay. Cousin.” on the front. But on January 23rd, she confirmed our assumptions when she held an Instagram live stating that she was indeed queer and had a girlfriend. This too was received with mixed emotions by the public. One homophobic parent tweeted “my daughter will never watch you again;” Jojo Siwa replied with a single word: “Okay!” She handled the situation in a mature manner rather than lashing out like a child, and proved the world wrong: she was not just a kid with a dream to be a pop star, she was already a celebrity in her own right. 

Though the young star’s future is still undecided, more people are starting to support her as they start to realize that she too is human. A seventeen-year-old girl who’s been judged over and over for simply being herself. Her popularity and success have been earned through her hard work and effort, and the people who hate her need to stop putting down a seventeen-year-old girl. The hate she has received because of coming out does not seem to faze the young artist as she claims to be the happiest she has ever been.