Jojo Siwa Responds to Accusations of Blackface in Music Video | 22 Words

Former Dance Moms star and YouTube sensation Jojo Siwa has responded to the accusation that she featured blackface in one of her music videos.

The accusations came as people also alleged that she isn't a supporter of BLM.

Keep scrolling to see the video in question and how she's responded...

Many people know JoJo Siwa for her popular YouTube channel and well, colorful fashion sense.

via: Getty Images

 At just seventeen years old, the star has garnered an impressive young fanbase.

She has quickly risen to fame.

Jojo now has over 11 million followers on her channel (not to mention the millions of followers on her social media accounts) and her videos get millions of views every day.

But she wasn't always a YouTuber...

Jojo has an extensive list of accolades that have made her who she is today.

Her time in the spotlight began on a very popular TV show.

via: imdb

 You guessed it... Dance Moms. 

The star made her first appearance on Abby Lee Miller's show back in its 4th season.

via: imdb

 The show, which has skyrocketed the likes of Maddy Ziegler to fame, saw us introduced to the energetic and bubbly Jojo - and she certainly made an impact.

But it wasn't long before she found a second act...

Not only did she become a huge social media celebrity but she's also a singer.

Her most popular tracks include "Boomerang" and "Kid in a Candy Store."

Her music fame has even seen her tour the globe. Can you imagine how popular this teen must be if her tours are outselling other music artists?

And just to give us a little hint of how much dollar she really makes...

She even owns her own mansion.

Oh, and let's not forget...

The star released her own line of bows which has proven extremely popular among her fans.

Jojo also rocks a very signature style.

via: Getty Images

 The teen superstar often dons extremely colorful outfits along with her trademark side ponytail and bow.

The star revealed that her huge bows have a deeper meaning for her.

via: Getty Images

 In a video interview, Jojo admitted she's been obsessed with bows since pre-school, but as she's gotten older, they've simply gotten bigger and bigger. She also went on to say that to her, bows symbolize "power, confidence, believing-ness."

Even her car is decked out in typical Jojo style.

Are we surprised? Nope.

But there's no doubt that in spite of her confidence, the teen has received her fair share of hate.

From people obsessively commenting on her hairline to mocking her style, Jojo is constantly commented on and picked apart online.

Her hairline is usually the thing people joke about.

Many people have pointed out how often she pulls her hair tightly back into a side pony.

In fact, she's been turned into something of a meme online.

But this week, she's been facing some real backlash.

Over the past week or so, accusations have been thrown at Jojo that she isn't a supporter of the BLM movement.

Not only did some people accuse her of not using her platform to speak out about BLM, but alleged that she actively blocked people asking her to do so.

Others also brought up the fact that she defended Abby Lee Miller.

Miller was "exposed" by past cast members for alleged racially insensitive comments during Dance Moms.

And now, she has been accused of featuring blackface in her latest music video.

So much so, that she has been forced to address the issue. Keep scrolling to see what she's had to say about everything...

The accusations come after the star released a circus-themed music video for "Nonstop" on June 19th - the day of Juneteenth.

One of the dancers can be seen on the screen briefly in what appears to be brown facial makeup while wearing monkey ears.

Twitter exploded with reactions to the video.

But many had a very different view...

Several people raised this point.

Several viewers of the music video said that the fact that people's mind would jump to the conclusion that a monkey character was blackface was racist in itself.

While many people think she could have done more with her platform...

Several agreed that by labelling the makeup as "Blackface" it's "furthering the degrading insult."

This is the makeup in question.

via: YouTube

 And this week, things have taken another turn...

Jojo has now responded to the accusations.

She addressed both the blackface controversy and the accusations that she blocked BLM supporters.

She penned a lengthy post on her Twitter and Instagram.

"I would like to address the music video that we shot for 'NONSTOP' in February," the teen began. "We’re talking about kids dressing up as circus animals! No one in my video is wearing Blackface. It's awful that anyone's mind would even go there. Kids dressing in animal costumes, having their faces painted to look like animals, acting the part. There were zebras, tigers, dogs, clowns, mermaids, everything."

She continued by denying claims that she isn't a supporter of BLM.

"I've addressed Black Lives Matter issues previously on my social media, I will say it again for the ones in the back, Black Lives Matter, today, tomorrow, yesterday and forever," she continued. "I'm on the right side of history here. Stop trying to make this about something it isn't."

As for why she blocked people on her Instagram account...

"My Instagram post yesterday had absolutely nothing to do with the criticism I received on my music video 'NONSTOP.' "I blocked certain people online and stopped following others because I was tired of seeing the personal hate on me," she continued. "Some people will do anything for attention and that includes being mean. People were sending me really horrible and disgusting messages about my appearance, my sexuality, my content, and overall just being hateful."

After issuing her statement, one follower said her post "didn't look like an apology."

To which Jojo clapped back with: "I didn't do anything that needs an apology.... this is me clearing things up."

You can read her full response below:

For more like this, scroll on for the full story on how producers of 30 Rock have decided to pull 4 episodes for blackface.