JoJo Siwa debuted a bold new look at the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards in LA on Monday, and the internet had thoughts.
The former Dance Moms star and ex-Nickelodeon performer donned a bold cut-out mesh bodysuit, paired with combat boots and striking black eye makeup for the event.
Apparently, this isn’t just a one-off goof for the red carpet. JoJo is pivoting to a more adult audience. The 20-year-old also shared that she wore the identical outfit in the music video for her upcoming single “KARMA,” set to release on April 5th.
“This is my ‘KARMA,’ black beast look,” Siwa told E! News at the event. “It’s got some rips in it, but you’d never know,” she added.
JoJo Siwa told the outlet that other artists such as Lil Nas X and Meghan Trainor approved of her new look and career approach. However, onlookers on social media had questions, observations, and a bit of roasting to do over Siwa’s fashion trajectory.
Many users on X (formerly Twitter) were simply nonplussed about what many perceived as trying a bit too hard. Some noted the bemused looks of fans on the iHeartRadio Music Awards carpet.
Others speculated on how more established icons at the ceremony might react to Jojo’s metal-inspired threads…
Some fans seemed to think the new look was simply incoherent. “Jojo Siwa on her artistic rebrand, another X user wrote, before adding, “It’s a goth-punk moment of female rage at being gaslit by an entire social structure. I think a lot of people see it and they’re just like, Sick snakes and strobe lights.”
This naturally refers to Taylor Swift’s rather unclear statements to Time in 2023 regarding her Reputation rerecording.
Other onlookers tried to pin down if the So You Think You Can Dance judge was paying homage to other performers. “[Is] KISS coming back on tour? Apparently, it’s the Jojo Siwa rebrand no one asked for,” one user quipped.
“She’s just a Mad Max character that falls off the tanker truck in the wastelands,” another X user joked. “someone just said jojo siwa looks like [WWE wrestler] goldust and Im [freaking] crying”, another fan added.
However, one thoughtful X user seemed to get to the heart of the matter. “I know next to nothing about Jojo Siwa but I learned from Miley’s phase that she’s probably just experimenting after being a child star and good for her,” they wrote.