JoJo Siwa’s Bad Girl rebrand is completely disgusting: Opinion

entertainment

From News.com.au

It’s an age-old right for child stars to transition into adulthood, and only a handful have ever truly pulled it off.

For Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez, there’s Victoria Justice and Haley Joel Osment. Stars who were unable to evolve their brands and grow into full-fledged celebrities.

Now it’s former Dance Moms star JoJo Siwa’s turn. She’s following the classic “good girl goes bad” route that worked so well for the likes of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera in the early 2000s.

Sadly, for Siwa, who still drives around Los Angeles in a car with his face painted in the paint and colorful rainbow stickers on the interior, the rebranding attempt has left an audience unlikely to be fooled by it. It looks far from the real thing.

Siwa rose to fame on Dance Moms in her early teens and has since amassed more than 30 million TikTok followers.

She quickly rose to fame and became one of the show’s biggest breakout stars, with millions of preteen girls falling in love with her child-friendly, unicorn-loving, iridescent persona.

She began building her career around her signature high ponytail with a bow and quickly transformed into a Wiggles-style entertainer.

However, criticism soon started pouring in from all corners of the internet, with social media teasing her for appearing to dress and act much younger than she actually is, and social media saying she was trapped in a contract. Even false rumors surfaced. That was what forced her to act like that.

After years of channeling the spirit of Willy Wonka, Siwa finally decides to break out of the realm of childlike fantasy and embrace his true self from the heart. According to her new image, it’s a watered down Miley Cyrus version of the star’s now iconic music video, “Can’t Be Tamed.”

The sudden, strong change from the song caused a flurry of whiplash on social media, sparking a wave of comments online as Siwa prepares to release her new single “Karma” on April 5th.

But it all feels unfair.

Indeed, Britney and Christina were both child stars who “failed” and received waves of backlash for it.

But while their unwarranted backlash has centered on how it allegedly affected impressionable young fans, Siwa’s case is more rooted in ridicule.

Just two years ago, Siwa was angry at critics who called her “acting her age,” rapping along to Doja Cat lyrics and firing back in the comments section.

She was defiant that the character she created, previously described as “creepy” and “disturbing” by critics, was authentic and essentially her…and yet here we are today. There is.

The change is so sudden, so manufactured, and moreover, it’s a double-edged sword for Siwa, who has built a brand on sharing every part of herself on social media.

As a result, it has become much more difficult to be fooled.