The former Dance Moms star, who first signed with Nickelodeon in 2016, also claimed that the president of the channel called her after she shared her coming out video.
 |
| Good “Karma” JoJo Siwa sat for an interview and gave Lovato a tour of her merch closet. In 2020, Forbes reported that Siwa’s bow sales alone had grossed more than $400 million. Tori Time/OBB Media |
Nickelodeon has shut down JoJo Siwa's recent claims. In a statement, the network denied blackballing the Dance Moms alum after she came out as a part of the LGBTQ+ community.
"We are unaware of the incident JoJo is referencing and she was certainly not blackballed by Nickelodeon," they told The Hollywood Reporter. "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 brought up the allegation in the Demi Lovato-directed documentary Child Star. As she reveals in the doc, the morning after the “Karma” singer shared a video of her coming out as queer on social media in 2021, she received a call from the president of Nickelodeon, who, while not explicitly named, was Brian Robbins. “What are we going to tell the kids?” she recalls him asking, to which she, at 17, replied, “That I’m happy?” His response, per Siwa: “Well, you need to have a call with every retailer [that sells JoJo Siwa merch] and tell them that you’re not going crazy.” So, she got on the phone with every retailer, from Target to Walmart to Claire’s, but she claims her relationship with Nickelodeon was never the same: “I basically got blackballed from the company.”
JoJo, who first signed with Nickelodeon in 2016, came out in February 2021. Later that year, she said the family-friendly channel wouldn't let her perform her own "original songs" from her musical movie The J Team on tour.
"I go out on tour in January. My movie musical was just released (with 6 new original songs)… Nickelodeon told me today that I'm not allowed to perform/add any of the songs from the film into my show," the musician, who was set to embark on her "D.R.E.A.M." tour in 2022, tweeted. "These are MY songs, MY voice, MY writing. Does this seem fair???"
"There is no reason that this music should not be included," she further argued. "Working for a company as a real human being treated as only a brand is fun until it's not. (sic)"
Stream a Mountain of Entertainment, including your Nickelodeon favorites on Paramount+! Try it FREE at ParamountPlus.com!
Original source: AceShowbiz.
