JoJo Siwa has come a long way since her Dance Moms days but as the former child star turns 18, it seems Nickelodeon have forgotten she’s a person and not just a brand.
Having been with Nickelodeon since 2017 and touring her ‘D.R.E.A.M’ concert with their support, the entertainer has gone from dancing diva to pop sensation.
On her website, JoJo considers herself part of the Nickelodeon family but with the Kids Choice Awards offering her no invite, it seems JoJo is being shunned from the spotlight.
JoJo has had an impressively successful career so far. She’s one of the youngest stars to perform at the O2 Academy. She was part of the first same-sex couple on Dancing with the Stars U.S.A, alongside her professional partner, Jenna Johnson.
She has been nominated for and won several Kids Choice awards. She was even nominated this year for Favourite Social Music Star.
Naturally, fans are left baffled on why Jojo was a no show at the ceremony.
The star took to Instagram to explain what she could and that was that, quite plainly, she wasn’t invited. They were keen to play her popular song One Chance but not so keen on JoJo filling one of the chairs.
“My song made the cut, but not me.”
JoJo Siwa on Instagram.
With Nickelodeon offering no explanation, fans have taken to Twitter to speculate the reason. The controversy has caught media coverage too. It would be uncharacteristic for JoJo to stay silent, and she hasn’t. The star has retweeted many of these threads.
Fans have started to wonder if the lack of an invite has something to do with JoJo’s new haircut. The last year has been quintessential to JoJo’s public image, having come out on TikTok and since then being a major LGBTQ+ advocate on social media platforms.
This year’s Kids Choice Awards would have been the first JoJo attended since coming out and it seems while Nickelodeon are happy to profit off her singing on stage, they don’t want her using her voice for topics they feel conflict with their representation and demographic.
It’s not the first time Nickelodeon have tried to preen JoJo’s public image, with her movie J Team’s songs being prohibited from her concerts.
But if Nickelodeon are going to sideline Jojo for cutting her hair, maybe the brand aren’t as child-friendly as they claim.
I can’t speak for everyone, but personally, I don’t want to teach the next generation that acceptance only works if you look and act a certain way.
Featured image credit: JoJo Siwa on Twitter
20 year old queer poet and journalist 😎
