How Dance Moms alum JoJo Siwa went from squeaky clean child star to one of the most controversial faces in music accused of being 'nasty and domineering'

She found fame at the tender age of nine years old when she first burst onto the dancing scene as a contestant on reality TV show Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition, and now 11 years later, JoJo Siwa is said to be worth $20 million.

JoJo - real name Joelle Joanie Siwa - has earned herself a legion of fans and become a household name in the past decade thanks to her various TV roles after joining the Nickelodeon family in 2017 and signing an 'overall talent deal' with the network - who also helped her launch product deals.

In 2019, the loud teenager made a brief appearance in an episode of the hugely popular reality series Keeping Up With The Kardashians where she hung out with Kim Kardashian and her oldest child, North West, who was six years old at the time.

The following year, she competed in The Masked Singer as T-Rex, appeared on Celebrity Watch Party, and then took part in the 2021 series of Dancing With The Stars, where she was placed runner-up as part of the first same-sex dancing partnership in the show's history performing with Jenna Johnson.

JoJo Siwa, pictured here in March 2024, has become of one of the most controversial faces in music

The 20-year-old, seen here on April 1, appears to have taken inspiration from the rock band Kiss with her latest look

In 2019, JoJo appeared in an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians with North West, who was six at the time

JoJo, who came out in January 2021, put on a rather racy performance at at Miami Beach Pride on April 14

In 2022, JoJo joined the 17th season of So You Think You Can Dance as a judge and she also appeared on Simon Cowell's talent show America's Got Talent with her girl group XOMG Pop! who were eliminated in the semi-finals.

JoJo has kicked off 2024 by focusing more on her own singing career and recently put on a very raunchy show while promoting new single Karma, which is a dance-pop and EDM track about a woman who regrets being unfaithful to her partner.

The blonde star, who came out as being part of the LGBTQ+ community in January 2021, was recently slammed for claiming she was creating a new genre of music called 'gay pop' following the debut of her lesbian romp music video for the new track.

The backlash was swift, as online commentators claimed that such a genre has existed for many years, with one fan sharing: 'That's literally been around for longer than she's been alive,' - which led to JoJo admitting to TMZ: 'I definitely am not the inventor of gay pop,' before adding that she hoped to 'be a piece in making it bigger than it already is.'

However, she has since doubled down on her original comments and said during an appearance on the SiriusXM show Hits 1 Miami With Mack & Jen that 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,' JoJo, who hails from Omaha, argued.

Her latest comments are no doubt going to annoy music fans, but this certainly isn't the first time JoJo has come under fire for her actions whilst slowly shedding her child-friendly image.

Here, FEMAIL takes a look at how JoJo went from a squeaky clean child star to one of the most controversial faces in the music industry.

JoJo's makeup kits sold at Claire's recalled in 2019 after FDA tests find traces of asbestos 

JoJo was known for wearing elaborate and colorful bows on her head when she first appeared on television as a child

In June 2019, the FDA recalled JoJo's makeup kit being sold at Claire's after officials found 'trace amounts of asbestos fibers'

JoJo Siwa, then 16, addressed the ongoing problem surrounding her makeup kit in a YouTube video

Following the success of her appearance in seasons five and six of Dance Moms, JoJo teamed up with retailer Claire's and released a line of hair bows - her trademark accessory she had become known for since first appearing on television.

As well as the hair bows, JoJo has her own doll, a line of slime, a clothing line called JoJo's Closet, and even a beverage called JoJo's Juice.

Speaking about her statement accessory back in 2017, JoJo said that her bows were a 'symbol of power, confidence, believing-ness,' but when she ventured into the world of cosmetics, things didn't turn out so well.

In June 2019, it was revealed that JoJo's makeup kits - which included eyeshadow, two lip glosses, and nail polish - had been recalled after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration deemed them as dangerous as they tested positive for asbestos. 

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that can cause serious disease and scar the lungs when inhaled.

Days later, JoJo took to her popular YouTube channel to pledge that she was getting the problematic product taken off the shelves - along with ensuring that future products would be completely safe.

'Recently it's been brought up to my attention that there has been a problem with one of my products in Claire's stores, with one of the JoJo makeup products,' the then Nickelodeon performer said.

'I just want to let everyone know that, no matter what, safety is myself and Nickelodeon's number-one priority in everything - in every JoJo product and in everything out there.' 

The Kid In A Candy Store singer said that the makeup kit was 'something that, with a lot of things, that [she] put [her] trust into other people's hands.'

The former Dance Moms star continued: 'We are working really, really hard to make sure that this product is recalled and off all shelves, and also that anyone who has this product, you can get a refund no matter what it is, if it's used or it's unused, you can get a full refund.'

JoJo expressed her gratitude toward fans in their understanding over the problem.

'I just wanna let you guys know the situation, and I hope you understand and I thank you for understanding, because it is serious to me, and it means a lot to me.' she said. 'Cause it is my name, and it is my brand, and it is my face - quite literally.'

Singer is accused of having an 11-year-old dancer wear 'blackface' to perform as a monkey in her music video

In 2020, JoJo was accused of having white dancer Lilliana Ketchman (right) perform in 'blackface' in her circus-themed music video

Lilliana, who was age 12, wore dark brown face makeup and ears to portray a monkey in the video for Nonstop

JoJo released the music video on Juneteenth (June 19), a holiday commemorating the effective end of slavery in the United States

In June 2020, JoJo hit back at 'mean' critics after she was accused of having a young dancer perform in blackface in her latest music video, which she released on Juneteenth - a holiday commemorating the effective end of slavery in the United States.

The then 17-year-old singer's circus-themed video for her song 'Nonstop' featured dancers dressed up as various animals, including Dance Moms star Lilliana Ketchman as a monkey. The white dancer, who had just turned 12 at the time, wore dark brown face makeup and ears.

While the comments on the video were disabled, critics took to Instagram and Twitter to call JoJo out for putting 'a little girl in blackface' dressed as a monkey — an animal that has historically been used to dehumanize Black people through racist imagery and caricatures. 

'When is @itsjojosiwa going to address the little girl in black face in her latest music video?' one person tweeted, while another asked: 'Why is there a little girl in blackface in jojo siwa's music video ??' 

Instead of addressing the accusations or apologizing, JoJo took to Instagram photo of herself giving the peace sign while revealing she has been blocking her critics. 

'This is for all the people I blocked today... Peace out girl scout,' she wrote in the caption. 'This is my Instagram and anyone who is going to be mean is NOT going to be allowed on here. 

'People are bossing me around, telling me who to follow, what to post, what to like, what to say, what to do, everything. 

'It's not about what you do on social media it's about what you do in real life. I said it best when I was 12, "Hide behind the screen cause their [sic] just so mean. But we don’t play it like that, we don’t even fight back."

'And now this is for everyone who is being kind right now... Thank you!' she added. 'I really do see your posts, I really do read your captions, and I really do appreciate them. More than you know. Also side note... People went to my DOGS Instagram. My DOG. To hate on me. Iconic!'

JoJo labeled 'disgusting' after she defends fellow YouTube creator Colleen Ballinger, aka Miranda Sings, amid accusations of grooming

JoJo was criticized after she appeared to defend fellow YouTube creator Colleen Ballinger

During a September 2023 interview with Howie Mandel, JoJo described the accusations of grooming against Colleen as 'lies'

Colleen pictured with JoJo at her Sweet 16 Birthday celebration in Hollywood in 2019

In September 2023, JoJo sparked outrage online after she appeared to defend fellow YouTube star Colleen Ballinger - who was facing accusations of grooming.

Back in April 2020, another YouTube creator and 17-year-old fan of Colleen's named Adam McIntyre claimed she had sent him lingerie when he was just 13, which Colleen admitted to doing.

Fast forward to three years later, a third YouTube star, Kodee Tyler Dahl, corroborated Adam's claims and shared alleged screenshots of Colleen's interactions with teenage fans and led to allegations by other former fans and employees, including ones of racial insensitivity on the set of Haters Back Off.

Colleen denied being a groomer and called the accusations 'lies,' and JoJo seemingly agreed when she was asked about it during an interview with Howie Mandel last year.

'I've known Colleen since I was 12. She's always been nothing but kind to me. Her family [was] nothing but kind to me,' JoJo said of her pal.

'The internet can take a lie and run so far with it. So far that, it's to the point where you just can't do anything about it, and I've had that happen to me,' she added.

People immediately took to X and slammed JoJo for her comments, with one person writing: 'Have you seen the JoJo Siwa video where she defends Colleen? It made me feel so sick. She is literally defending her.'

Adam also responded via a video and branded JoJo 'disgusting' for apparently implying he was a 'liar' and accused her of being a 'hazard' to her 'infant' audience.

JoJo branded 'disrespectful and insensitive' after repeatedly pretending to be pregnant in March 2023

JoJo's fans were not happy when she posted multiple photos and videos in March 2023 in which she pretended to be pregnant

She joked about looking for 'baby clothes' after posting a photo of herself touching her stomach

Just over a year ago, JoJo was called out after sharing numerous posts in which she joked about being pregnant.

The singer, who was 19 at the time, left her followers scratching their heads after sharing multiple photos and videos throughout the month of March 2023 that seemed to suggest she was expecting a baby. 

In one particular Snapchat post, JoJo pulled her hoodie up and put her hands over her stomach and captioned the misleading photo: 'Can't believe it.'

She followed it up with a photo of herself appearing to shop for baby clothes, though the posts later disappeared. 

Many people were shocked by the posts as one person tweeted: 'Jojo siwa is a weirdo for pretending to be pregnant on snap,' and another commented: 'JoJo Siwa doing this whole "fake pregnancy" thing is getting ridiculous.'

Another person asked: 'Why is JoJo Siwa romanticizing pregnancy when she's not pregnant,' and a fourth added: 'why is jojo siwa pretending to be pregnant ??? like there are so many other things you can do for some clout baby.'

Other people branded the ongoing series of posts 'extremely disrespectful and insensitive', but JoJo seemingly laid to rest any question of a pregnancy in a Snapchat story posted on March 27, in which she clarified that she didn't plan to have children until later in life.

XOMG Pop! member accuses JoJo and her mom Jessalyn of creating a hostile work environment 

JoJo and her mom, Jessalyn, pictured with their girl group XOMG Pop! in November 2021

Leigha Sanderson, seen here in April 2024, claims she was abruptly fired from the girl group after her own mom shared her concerns about how she was being treated

JoJo and mom Jessalyn, pictured here in November 2021, denied the allegations via their attorney

In a March 2024 article released by Rolling Stone, JoJo and her mom, Jessalyn, were accused by a former member of their girl group XOMG Pop! of creating a hostile work environment.

Leigha Sanderson was part of the original line-up of the group - which was originally formed by the mother and daughter duo through their reality TV show Siwas Dance Pop Revolution in 2021, and went on to compete on America's Got Talent.

In her interview with Rolling Stone, Leigha - who has spina bifida - claimed she was abruptly fired from the girl group after her own mother, Anjie, raised her concerns about the treatment of her daughter and the members of XOMG Pop! with the other mothers as well as a studio teacher.

The articles alleges that Jessalyn was 'overtly cruel' to the group and shamed one member for 'having a disability', and accused JoJo of being 'nasty and domineering,' even claiming she 'screamed insults at the girls during a performance.'

The Siwas denied the allegations via their attorney, Bryan Freedman, in a statement which read: 'These allegations are 100 percent provably false. Voluminous and irrefutable evidence [will] tell you all you need to know — that a disgruntled momager's own abusive behavior caused for her daughter to be asked not to return to the group.'

Freedman referred to Leigha's termination as 'Jess Siwa [protecting] the staff, the other girls and their families which she will continue to do vociferously and unapologetically.'

They did not respond to allegations unrelated to the Sandersons, or questions regarding why so many former members of the group had left.

XOMG Pop! currently consists of four members and in February the group announced a 10-date tour, including shows in Chicago, Boston, and Florida.

JoJo loses Instagram 22,500 followers in 30 days after enjoying a wild lesbian romp in her new music video

JoJo put on a very racy display in her new music video for latest single Karma 

As she sang about being 'wild', the former child star who has recently entered her edgy new era, was seen being licked by a woman 

Abby Lee Miller shared her honest reaction to JoJo 's sexually-charged music video as she watched it for the first time on Friday

Proving that she has ditched her squeaky clean image once and for all, JoJo enjoyed a wild lesbian romp with another woman in the new video for her track, Karma. 

As she sang about being 'wild,' the former child star - who was recently seen visiting a sex shop after ditching her family-friendly image amid a major rebrand - was also pictured being licked by another woman. 

Throughout the clip, JoJo - who turns 21 next month - showed off her viral TikTok choreography and was seen grinding on a number of beautiful ladies, but it seems not everyone was impressed with her new work.

According to QR Code Generator, JoJo has lost 22,500 followers on Instagram in the last 30 days since releasing Karma, while the original song by Brit Smith has gone viral on TikTok and the US iTunes Top Songs Chart.

However, one person who is a fan of JoJo's new look is her former teacher, Abby Lee Miller, who took to her TikTok page to share her honest opinion after watching the video.

Referring to JoJo's dark makeup and sexy KISS-inspired catsuit - which Abby, 58, pointed out was a drastic change from her past colorful image - she defended her former student and said she was just growing up.

'I don't know if it's so much as a rebranding or just maturing, getting older, wanting to show another side of her,' she shared. 

'It's still her doing incredible dancing.'

'And this song is about, I guess, somebody hooked up with somebody else and it's gonna come back to haunt you,' she added about her interpretation of the meaning of her song and video.

'It's JoJo with paint on her face and a fabulous costume. It used to be stars and rainbows and pink and lavender and turquoise, and now it's black.'