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JoJo Siwa magazine cover in jockstrap draws mixed reactions

Vaseline September 24, 2024

Another day, another fashion choice from JoJo Siwa that elicits mixed reactions.

On the cover of Ladygunn magazine released Monday, Siwa crouches in gold combat boots and a rose gold rhinestone-encrusted male chest plate with sculpted abs, paired with a matching jockstrap. The outfit was designed by Kyle Farmery’s New York City-based Sparkyle Studio.

Siwa, 21, was looking for an outfit so wild it could be a “Halloween costume,” she told Ladygunn in an interview ahead of the photoshoot.

“We can’t just do a cool photo shoot and hope for the best,” she said. “It’s got to be like, what … is she wearing right now? You know what I mean? It’s got to be what the next Halloween costume is.”

Among the most liked comments under the Instagram post featuring the image are users expressing their disgust and confusion. A comment about “not liking” the photos at all was co-signed with nearly 29,000 likes, and the second most popular shared opinion is “no hate, I’m honestly just confused.”

Another user accused Siwa’s new management of “ruining her career.” However, one fan noted that everyone would “suck it up” if Lady Gaga had done this photoshoot.

While Siwa has not publicly responded to the mixed reactions to her styling choices, she did repost an X, formerly Twitter, user who responded, “Love your balls JoJo @itsjojosiwa. Always a showstopper. Never change girl.”

‘Great eagerness to be ‘iconic’: JoJo Siwa faces rejection from the LGBTQ+ community. Why?

When Oscar nominee Kristen Stewart faced similar criticism earlier this year for appearing on the cover of Rolling Stone with her hand in a (non-bejeweled) jockstrap she was wearing, she explained why the negative reactions reflected a double standard.

“It’s kind of ironic, because I feel like I’ve seen a lot of male pubic hair on the cover of things. I’ve seen a lot of hands in pants and unbuttoned,” she said on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” in March. “I think there’s a certain open acknowledgement of a female sexuality that has a mind of its own in a way that’s annoying to people who are sexist and homophobic.”

JoJo Siwa Doesn’t Care Whether the Internet ‘Laughs With Me or At Me’

The former “Dance Moms” singer, who came out as queer and pansexual in 2021 and chopped off her iconic long blonde hair in 2022 before launching a bold rebrand with her music video for “Karma” this year, is no stranger to sparking backlash on social media.

Siwa acknowledges that she is a pro at marketing herself and getting attention online, an instinct inspired by infamous social media personalities Jake and Logan Paul.

“I learned at a young age that in the eyes of the public, all attention is attention… whether it’s good attention or just attention,” she told Ladygunn. “I just signed new management and they’re amazing, amazing people. They were like, ‘OK, we need to get people to rally around you and really like you.’ And I was like, ‘Oh no, that’s not the point.'”

She knows that “nobody wants me to be boring” and she revealed, “The part of me that the world doesn’t see is the person who defines the image that you see.”

She added: “My favorite thing in the world is to entertain people and make them laugh, whether they laugh with me or at me.

“Of course nobody likes to be hated, but I like to entertain, and that’s how people get entertained.”