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JoJo Siwa is opening up about how her career was impacted after coming out as gay. The 21-year-old “Guilty Pleasure” entertainer came out in January 2021 when she was 17 by posting a video singing along to Lady Gaga‘s “Born This Way,” followed by wearing a shirt she received from her cousin that read, “Best. Gay. Cousin. Ever.” At the time, JoJo was a huge part of Nickelodeon, having a major deal with the company, which spanned across merchandise, music, film and television, and more. However, in a new interview, JoJo claims she was blackballed by the company after she came out. Keep reading to find out more… While talking about her experience in the upcoming documentary Child Star, JoJo says she received a call from the president of the company, Brian Robbins, after her coming out. “What are we going to tell the kids?” she recalled him asking, to which she responded, “That I’m happy?” “Well, you need to have a call with every retailer [that sells JoJo Siwa merch] and tell them that you’re not going crazy,” JoJo added of what he then told her. This is something she’s mentioned in the past. However, she says her relationship with Nick wasn’t the same after that. “I basically got blackballed from the company,” JoJo says. Nickelodeon is denying that she was blackballed. “We are unaware of the incident JoJo is referencing and she was certainly not blackballed by Nickelodeon,” a spokesperson for the company shared with THR. “We have valued and supported JoJo throughout our incredibly successful partnership, which included a JoJo-themed Pride collection at a major national retailer, among our many collaborations together. We continue to cheer her on and wish her nothing but the best.” JoJo says nowadays, she would have handled the situation much differently. “If the president of my music label called me now and was like, ‘Yo, what the f–k?’ like the president of my network did then, I would lose my mind,” she says. “Honestly, I’d be like, ‘Oh my God, I’m so sorry. Yes, I’ll go back in the closet. Or I’ll delete it. I’ll say it was a prank. I’ll get a boyfriend.’ But back then, I was like, ‘I’m in love and I’m happy. Shut up.’” Months after coming out, JoJo claimed that Nickelodeon was blocking her from performing her own music from her movie The J Team while on tour, songs that she wrote and performed. Then, in 2022, after she was noticeable absent from the 2022 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards, she revealed why she wasn’t in attendance. “I simply didn’t get an invite,” she surprisingly shared. A source later claimed JoJo not receiving an invite was an “honest mistake.”
