JoJo Siwa chugged from a Tito’s vodka bottle onstage while playing LA Pride In The Park this weekend – just weeks after her 21st birthday.
Thrown at the Los Angeles State Historic Park, the event welcomed an array of showbiz personalities, including Ariana Grande‘s brother Frankie.
Perhaps the biggest name among them was JoJo, who first shot to fame as a child star on the controversial reality series Dance Moms.
The 21-year-old – who is now dating Madison Rouge Alvarado after judging her on So You Think You Can Dance – was joined by scantily clad backup dancers.
Her concert comes two months after JoJo doubled down on her plan to invent ‘gay pop’ as ‘an official genre of music’ – after previously walking back her remarks.
JoJo Siwa chugged from a vodka bottle onstage while playing LA Pride In The Park this weekend – just weeks after her 21st birthday
Thrown at the Los Angeles State Historic Park, the event welcomed an array of showbiz personalities who regaled the crowd with their musical stylings
The Omaha-born singer ignited a furor in April when she said she ‘wanted to start a new genre of music’ called ‘gay pop.’
Social media erupted with outrage, as JoJo’s detractors pointed out that many gay artists have created pop music before she did.
At first, she backpedaled, telling TMZ: ‘I definitely am not the inventor of gay pop,’ but adding that she hoped to ‘be a piece in making it bigger than it already is.’
But shortly thereafter, she went on the SiriusXM show Hits 1 Miami With Mack & Jen and declared she wants to establish ‘gay pop’ as a separate category of music.
‘So, here’s the thing. Gay pop, right, is a thing that people have done, but it is not an official genre of music. You know what I mean?’ she said.
‘It is a style, but it is how there’s rap, there’s rock, there’s R&B, there’s pop. Gay pop is not an official genre of music. If you look on the iTunes charts, there is no – there’s a pop chart,’ argued JoJo, who hails from Omaha.
‘Gay pop,’ to her, should be a distinct genre: ‘Not just like: “Oh, I’m a gay pop artist.” Yes, there’s so many gay pop artists,’ she allowed.
‘Oh my God. There’s so many, but I think that those gay pop artists do deserve a bigger home than what they have right now,’ said JoJo.
JoJo twirled through a provocative set of choreography involving her female backup dancers
She teamed her splashy rainbow ensemble with a gleaming silver pair of go-go boots
At one point, she leaned over to let one of her backup dancers grind on her
Perhaps the biggest name among them was JoJo, who first shot to fame as a child star on the controversial reality series Dance Moms
She grinned broadly at the Tito’s bottle after taking a swig from it
The 21-year-old – who is now dating Madison Rouge Alvarado after judging her on So You Think You Can Dance – was joined by scantily clad backup dancers
Her concert comes two months after JoJo doubled down on her plan to invent ‘gay pop’ as ‘an official genre of music’ – after previously walking back her remarks
The Omaha-born singer ignited a furor in April when she said she ‘wanted to start a new genre of music’ called ‘gay pop’
Social media erupted with outrage, as JoJo’s detractors pointed out that many gay artists have created pop music before she did
At first, she backpedaled, telling TMZ : ‘I definitely am not the inventor of gay pop,’ but adding that she hoped to ‘be a piece in making it bigger than it already is’
She felt her past comments were interpreted unfairly, joking: ‘I could say I want world peace, and everyone would be like: “How dare you want peace for the world?”‘
The former child star reflected: ‘People ask me all the time, they’re like: “Do you feel like you have to be very careful about what you say?” I’m like: “No, because no matter what I say, it’s going down anyways.”‘
JoJo first set off her ‘gay pop’ controversy while promoting her ribald Karma music video, which shows her indulging in a lesbian romp.
‘When I first signed with Columbia, I said I wanted to start a new genre of music,’ she said in an interview with Billboard. ‘They said: “What do you mean?”, and I said: “It’s called ‘gay pop’. It’s like K-pop but it’s gay pop.”‘
JoJo added: ‘There’s a style of dance called jazz funk. It’s jazz, it’s hip-hop, they have a baby, it’s called jazz funk. You can wear sneakers or you can wear jazz shoes. It’s kind of in between. I feel like that is this world of music.’
She elaborated: ‘It’s that world of music where it’s not necessarily pop, it’s not giving you Katy Perry California Gurls, it’s giving you Lady Gaga Judas.’
Looking ahead at her career, she went on: ‘I have a vision, I’ve always had it. I know what I wanna be. I know where I wanna go. I know the level, I know the craziness. I know what I want to make the world believe.’
She was roundly mocked on social media, where one user pointed out that gay pop has ‘literally been around for longer than she’s been alive.’
But shortly thereafter, she went on the SiriusXM show Hits 1 Miami With Mack & Jen and declared she wants to establish ‘gay pop’ as a separate category of music
She felt her past comments were interpreted unfairly, joking: ‘I could say I want world peace, and everyone would be like: “How dare you want peace for the world?”‘
JoJo first set off her ‘gay pop’ controversy while promoting her ribald Karma music video, which shows her indulging in a lesbian romp
She was roundly mocked on social media, where one user pointed out that gay pop has ‘literally been around for longer than she’s been alive’
As the backlash mounted, JoJo found herself backtracking, confessing to TMZ : ‘I definitely am not the inventor of gay pop, for sure not’
Ariana Grande’s brother Frankie Grande was also seen taking the stage at LA Pride In The Park
Pop fans pointed out some of the gay stars who have preceded her in the industry, from Elton John and Freddie Mercury to RuPaul and Frank Ocean.
‘This is what happens when you tell a child that they’re great at everything and never criticize them on stuff, you get this,’ one commenter wrote.
‘Jojo siwa saying she wants to create a new genre of music called “gay pop” is the most ignorant thing on planet earth,’ an X user fumed: ‘like, genuinely so disrespectful and dismissive of every queer person in music who came before her.’
As the backlash mounted, JoJo found herself backtracking, confessing to TMZ: ‘I definitely am not the inventor of gay pop, for sure not.’
JoJo qualified her statement: ‘But I do want to be a piece in making it bigger than it already is. I want to bring more attention to it.’
She tipped her hat to her predecessors in creating ‘gay pop,’ including Madonna and Lady Gaga – and even Michael Jackson.
