JoJo Siwa Clarifies Comment About Starting a ‘New Genre of Music’ Called ‘Gay Pop

After JoJo Siwa sparked controversy by claiming she wanted to “start a new genre of music” called “gay pop,” she’s clarifying what she meant.

The singer/dancer ruffled feathers online after making the statement in an interview with Billboard News earlier this month, with many people feeling as though Siwa was ignoring the impact of queer pop stars who preceded her career. On Tuesday, April 16, however, the Dance Moms alum opened up further about the intent behind her words while speaking to SiriusXM Hits 1.

Her initial comments came alongside the release of her new single “Karma,” which marks a turn away from her youth-oriented past work, as she sings about the aftermath of an adult queer relationship.

“When I first signed with Columbia [Records], I said I wanted to start a new genre of music,” Siwa told Billboard News. “They said, ‘What do you mean?’ and I said, ‘It’s called “gay pop”.’ It’s like K-Pop, but it’s gay pop.’ Theres a style of dance called jazz funk. It’s jazz, it’s hip-hop, they have a baby, it’s called jazz-funk.”

“You can wear sneakers or you can wear jazz shoes. It’s kind of in between. I feel like that is this world of music,” she continued, citing songs like Lady Gaga’s “Applause” and Miley Cyrus’ “On My Own” and “Can’t Be Tamed.”

The interview quickly made waves online, eventually garnering a response from openly queer pop duo Tegan & Sara in the form of a TikTok where the two women looked around, seemingly wondering if Siwa is unaware of their decades-long musical output.

Many social media users also mentioned LGBTQ-identifying musicians including Freddie Mercury, Elton John, Kim Petras, Lil Nas X, Troye Sivan, Janelle Monáe and Sam Smith, among others, who made pop songs long before Siwa came out as queer in 2021.

In a new interview with SiriusXM’s Hits 1 Miami with Mack & Jen, Siwa spoke about what she meant with the comments.

“So, here’s the thing. Gay pop, right, is a thing that people have done, but it is not an official genre of music,” she told the program. “You know what I mean? 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.”

Siwa explained she’d like to see a “literal” category for queer pop music: “Not just like, ‘Oh, I’m a gay pop artist.’ Yes, there’s so many gay pop artists. Oh my God. There’s so many, but I think that those gay pop artists do deserve a bigger home than what they have right now.”

She also touched on the backlash her initial statement received. “I could say I want world peace, and everyone would be like, ‘How dare you want peace for the world,'” said the former So You Think You Can Dance judge.

“It’s kind of crazy. People ask me all the time, they’re like, ‘Do you feel like you have to be very careful about what you say?’ I’m like, ‘No, because no matter what I say, it’s going down anyways,'” continued Siwa.