In case you're not in the know, gay pop was invented last week when JoJo Siwa released her single "Karma." Or at least this is the truth that the kids-performer-turned-bad-girl has been telling herself. Following getting clowned on by the internet — including gay pop icons Tegan and Sara — Siwa has now learned that gay people do indeed make music, and that context is everything.
Recently, Siwa ran into a TMZ cameraperson who gave her the chance to rewalk her earlier statement that she created a genre called "gay pop." "Why did people come for me for that?" she exclaimed while running around. "Here's the thing, I could be like, 'I support world peace,' and the whole world would be like, 'You asshole.'"
After the cameraperson pointed out that many queer icons came before Siwa, the performer listed Madonna, Lady Gaga and Michael Jackson (who never said he was gay) as people who "have made gay pop." "I think I just want to make it more clear that gay pop is a genre. You have pop, you have rock, you have country, and you have gay pop. If I said to somebody, 'Name a gay pop artist,' they'd go, 'What's gay pop?'"
This cameraperson did not relent, saying that they think people would respond to Siwa's hypothetical question with acts like Chappell Roan, Freddie Mercury and Elton John. "That's valid because I would too," Siwa admitted.
After being asked if she wanted to backtrack calling herself the inventor of gay pop, Siwa stated, "I am definitely not the inventor of gay pop. For sure not, but I do want to be a piece of making it bigger than it already is."
"I'm not the president, but I might be like the CEO, or the like CMO," she continued. Still, quite a bold statement! Watch the entire interview below.
