JoJo Siwa’s return to television on the UK version of Celebrity Big Brother has been controversial to say the least. Marked by her struggles with identity, her presence on the show has reminded people of her beginnings, and the adversity she faced to get where she is.
From fights with Mickey Rourke, to her re-evaluating her s***ality as her relationship with Chris Hughes continues to develop, viewers have compared the rollercoaster of emotions to her experience in Lifetime’s Dance Moms.
“That was no sweat for JoJo, she was raised with Dance Moms,” a viewer wrote, echoing the sentiments of many of her fans, who still remember how she was brought to tears multiple times under the strict tutelage of Abby Lee Miller.
“She had to deal with Abby Lee Miller—that’s enough to build character.”
Fans of Celebrity Big Brother’s JoJo Siwa unearthed a heart wrenching clip of her participation as a child in Dance Moms
JoJo joined the Dance Moms franchise at the tender age of 9, after gaining early attention on Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition.
She quickly became one of the standout performers on Season 5 of Dance Moms, a reality show infamous for its brutal teaching tactics under coach Abby Lee Miller.
Her methods were thoroughly questioned by audiences, with many arguing that her reprimands were not well-intentioned, but purposely harsh in order to make the girls cry for the cameras.
Motivated by her participation in Celebrity Big Brother, fans have unearthed a Dance Moms scene that haunted viewers at the time. In the clip, Abby instructed the other young dancers to list reasons why JoJo didn’t deserve a spot in their dancing company.
The girls recited criticisms like “she’s very loud,” “a little too crazy,” and “you have time issues,” causing JoJo to feel humiliated and cry.
“You’re lucky to even be a guest here,” Abby said directly to JoJo afterwards. “If you’re so good, you don’t really need to be a part of the Abby Lee Dance Company.”
As JoJo continued to cry, Abby shouted, “She deserves nothing!” before ordering, “No crying children.” JoJo, visibly shaken but defiant, responded, “Well, if you yell at me, I’m going to cry.”
The singer recounted how, at one point, she was so stressed that she developed a bald-spot as a child
JoJo’s recent attempts to reinvent herself as a queer musical icon, leaving behind her sparkly, innocent image, has caused a segment of netizens to label her as “cringe,” and “obnoxious,” comments that she’s keenly aware of.
“When people hate to try and hurt me but this was my childhood,” she wrote, captioning a video of a disturbing Dance Moms moment. In it, Abby grabbed a dress out of JoJo’s hands, calling her a “greedy little monster.”
The singer went on to explain that she experienced so much stress while on the show, that she developed a bald spot due to a stress-induced rash during filming.
“When I was little, I had a really bad stress rash right here on Dance Moms, and I would pick at it all day long. I damaged every single hair follicle that has ever been right there,” she shared.
Some fans, on the other hand, blamed the bald spot on JoJo’s mother, Jessalynn, who allegedly forced her daughter to repeatedly bleach her hair, causing damage to her skin.
“The fact that her own mother essentially put her through this abuse on top of forcing her to bleach her hair constantly, burning her scalp and then wrenching her hair as tightly as possible,” they wrote.
With both detractors and fans, Siwa remains a controversial figure at just 21 years old
Between her controversial participation in Dance Moms, her drama-filled confrontations on Celebrity Big Brother, and her recent goal of becoming a queer music icon, JoJo’s public perception remains mixed.
Her fans value what they see as tenacity and the ability to emerge stronger after the trials and tribulations of being a child star, while her detractors consider her to be overexposed and overly performative, often dismissing her personality as manufactured or attention-seeking.
“I can’t stand this woman but at least JoJo is a fitting name for a clown,” one user wrote online.
“She increased her following by joining the LGTBQ community, quite clever really,” another replied.
Despite it all, since leaving Dance Moms in 2016, JoJo has built a successful career in music, television, and social media. She was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2020, and she has become an outspoken advocate for self-expression.
“So much trauma.” Netizens took to social media to reflect on JoJo’s childhood experiences
