Celebrity Big Brother 2025 has launched, and JoJo Siwa is one of the star’s on this year’s show. And while she may have a huge following online, not everyone knows who she is.
Making her start on the US TV series Dance Mom’s, JoJo went on to gather quite a lot of online followers at such a young age. But even at 21 years old, JoJo has been embroiled in quite a lot of controversy.
So from feuds with Nickelodeon and Justin Bieber to blackface accusations, let’s take a deep dive into JoJo Siwa’s controversial career…
Who is Celebrity Big Brother star JoJo Siwa?
Celebrity Big Brother 2025 star JoJo Siwa is an American former Nickelodeon and TikTok star turned singer.
She made her first showbiz appearance at nine years old, way back in 2023. She competed on Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition, a spin-off to Abby Lee Miller’s Dance Mom’s.
But then she became an icon for younger generation, with her staple pink bows and sparkles. So, it wasn’t long before Nickelodeon signed with her – but that deal has since turned sour.
As she got older, she went through an image rebrand, while also coming out as part of the LGBTQ+ community. And so she no longer wears her pink sparkles, taking on a much different image.
JoJo Siwa controversies – feud with Justin Bieber
In 2018, JoJo shared a custom car with her own face printed on it. And while a lot of the internet was wondering why, Justin Bieber commented on the Instagram picture: “Burn it.”
JoJo, who was 16 at the time, saw the comment, and her mum responded. She wrote back: “Burn your feelings.” After the response, Justin apologised for his words.
The two celebs eventually made amends, with JoJo suggesting that Justin perform at her 16th birthday party to make it up to her.
However, January 2019 saw Justin take another swipe. He posted a picture of her book, JoJo’s Guide to Making Your Own Fun, with the words “burn it” written over the top. He also added: “Haha, JK,” explaining that he was just kidding.
JoJo responded, sharing a photo of herself posing with cardboard cutout of Justin and plugging her new book: “Since @justinbieber likes my books now I thought I would read him my new one,” she said, adding the presale link.
We make that advantage, JoJo.
Music video blackface allegations
In 2020, JoJo released a music video for her song Nonstop. And fans immediately accused the star of blackface. In the video, one of the young background dancers can be seen dressed up as a monkey. However, JoJo appeared upset as she addressed the claims.
It’s awful anyone’s mind would even go there.
She said: “We’re talking about kids dressing up as circus animals! No one in my video is wearing blackface. It’s awful anyone’s mind would even go there.”
JoJo went on to praise the Black Lives Matter movement and assured her followers that she was “on the right side of history”.
LGBTQ+ backlash for Celebrity Big Brother JoJo Siwa
JoJo came out in 2021, and has faced a difficult time with an unnamed industry boss due to her fanbase being mostly younger people.
In a TikTok video posted in March 2023, JoJo explained that when she came out, she was asked: “What are you going to tell your young demographic?” to which she responded: “The truth.”
She continued: “I have never seen a man roll his eyes so far in the back of his head. It was silent so I started talking again. I said: ‘I’m not going to hide who I am and who I love to anyone, especially to the next generation.'”
While she didn’t name the company, at the time many people assumed it was Nickelodeon. However, the powers that be at Nickelodeon strongly denied that JoJo was speaking about them.
Nickelodeon ‘feud’ addressed
Despite being a constant performer at the Kids’ Choice Awards over the years, in 2022, not long after coming out, JoJo wasn’t invited to the awards for the first time since shooting to fame.
At the time, she hinted at it being due to her sexuality. In a video posted on social media, she assured her fans it “wasn’t” her choice not to go, but that she “didn’t get an invite”.
However, Nickelodeon came out and said that it “was an honest mistake” and the size of audience had to be reduced to follow Covid protocols.
Karma backlash
As part of her rebrand away from the Nickelodeon kid, Celebrity Big Brother star JoJo released her song Karma. And with it came a lot of backlash.
JoJo spoke to BillBoard about how she had been working on the song for “years”.
She said: “Originally, I was scared of this song. I was 18 years old. And I didn’t want to say [bleep]. I didn’t want to say ‘I was a bad girl’ because I wasn’t. So, we did some different versions of the song.”
However, it then came to public attention that Karma was actually written by songwriters, not JoJo. And initially, the idea was for Miley Cyrus to sing it back in 2012.
Catch JoJo Siwa on Celebrity Big Brother when it starts at 9pm on April 7 on ITV1.
Read more: Celebrity Big Brother 2025 lineup handed warning following Ekin-Su’s ‘mistakes’ on show
What do you think of Celebrity Big Brother contestant JoJo Siwa? Let us know by leaving a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix. We want to hear your thoughts!