JoJo Siwa has somberly cleared up any confusion as to why she wasn’t at the Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards on Saturday, despite her song appearing on the show and her nomination for an award. In an Instagram video in which she sported a rainbow necklace and her new cropped haircut, she lamented, “A lot of you have been asking why I’m not at the Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards tonight...and the answer is very simple. I wasn’t invited. I’m not sure why, but I just didn’t get an invite.” She added in the caption, “I don’t want anyone to think it was my choice not to go…. I simply didn’t get an invite:(.”
Siwa is a famous internet personality after spending two seasons on Dance Moms alongside her mother, Jessalynn Siwa. She has put out music, including the popular singles “Kid In A Candy Store” and “Boomerang,” and she posts lifestyle videos to her Youtube channel, which has 12.2 million subscribers. She also made a guest appearance on Dancing With the Stars. It’s curious then, considering her popularity, why she would be overlooked for an invite to perhaps the biggest night for kid stars. Many are wondering if it has something to do with Siwa coming out as queer in 2021.
Siwa was nominated for Best Social Music Star, and in an Instagram Story, Siwa even noted that her record “One Chance” made it into the awards show. “My song made the cut, but not me,” she said. Eyebrows are raised because Siwa came out as pansexual last year, and has spent her time since advocating for LGBTQ+ rights. It makes for odd timing, seeing as before Siwa came out she attended the event multiple times and swept its awards categories on multiple occasions. According to Buzzfeed, Siwa also inked a talent deal with Nickelodeon in 2017, which also produced her D.R.E.A.M. tour.
Siwa previously called out Nickelodeon last September for not allowing her to perform newer songs on her tour. In a now-deleted tweet, she wrote, “I go out on tour in January. My movie musical [The J Team] was just released (with 6 new original songs)… Nickelodeon told me today that I'm not allowed to perform/add any of the songs from the film into my show.” Siwa’s film was released to Paramount+ last July. She continued in other deleted tweets, “These are MY songs, MY voice, MY writing. Does this seem fair???” and “There is no reason that this music should not be included.”
Nickelodeon did not immediately respond to Mic’s request for comment.
Of being queer in the public eye Siwa said in an Instagram post, “I also get asked a lot ‘your demographic is so young are you worried about telling kids your gay’... Truthfully I feel like I was put on this earth to be a role model for kids, and letting all the kids of the world know that loving everyone for who they are no matter what is something that I will always believe in and always share.” Considering her advocacy, Siwa’s fans and peers are equally upset by the snub, with many taking to comments and threads on social media to have her back. It appears that Nickelodeon want to benefit from Siwa’s work and notoriety without allowing for queer representation.
