JoJo Siwa has opened up about being a child star in Hollywood.
The former Nickelodeon star, 20, told Nova’s Smallzy’s Surgery on Thursday that she feels like she “was taken advantage of as a child.”
“I had shady dealings and yes, I was screwed over as a child and taken advantage of as a child, but not in a sexual way, but in a business way,” she said.
‘I think hearing the dark stories of children… that child stars were groomed or, in some of the worst cases, child stars were sexually abused. I mean, it’s so disgusting.
“But I have to say that I really appreciate those child stars coming forward and being open about their stories, because those are things that I’m lucky to not have to deal with.” But this is still going on.”
JoJo Siwa has opened up about being a child star, telling Nova’s Smallzy’s Surgery on Thursday that she feels like she was taken advantage of as a child.
JoJo rose to fame after joining the cast of Dance Moms in its fourth season at just nine years old.
However, she recently ditched her kid-friendly image and revealed a preview of her latest track, Karma, in which she describes herself as a “bad girl.”
“I was a bad girl, I did some bad things/I swear I did it all for fun and it didn’t mean a thing,” she crooned in the first verse.
‘Another night, another crazy mood/And I didn’t think twice about what I’d do to you.’
She proceeds to sing that she has always been a “wild child” and that it was only a “matter of time before” she “messed it up.”
The Nickelodeon alum, who became a tween sensation for her hits like Boomerang, released her first curse words in a song.
“Karma sucks, I should’ve known better/If I had a wish, I never would’ve fucked,” he declared in the chorus. ‘Karma is a whore/And she’s with you right now.’
“I had shady dealings and yes, I was screwed over as a child and taken advantage of as a child, but not in a sexual way, but in a commercial way,” she said.
To the surprise of many of her fans, Jojo also uploaded a close-up photo of her butt and several racy images, including her turning off the camera and holding another woman’s waist.
Many commentators compared her abandonment of her kid-friendly image to Miley Cyrus, a former child star, who also shed her squeaky-clean “good girl” image in an extreme way.
“She’s basically letting everyone know that she’s not a girl anymore and won’t act like one anymore… so if they don’t want her kids (who followed her because she was a girl) to see her doing adult things. This is your warning to stop following… it’s not that hard to read and understand,” one fan wrote.
Another referenced Taylor Swift’s hit song Look What You Made Me Do, writing: ‘Sorry old Jojo can’t answer the phone right now; because? Oh, because she’s dead! I’m so excited for this new era of Jojo!’
JoJo rose to fame after joining the cast of Dance Moms in its fourth season at just nine years old. She is also known for wearing large bows in her hair during her teenage years (pictured in 2018).