JoJo Siwa made a splash at the iHeartRadio Music Awards. Although, things didn't go the way she intended after her new look got roasted online.
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The singer debuted a bold and wild look, rocking black face paint as well as silver and black. It's a look that belonged more on a metal cover than at an awards show, and online critics blasted her for her outfit. However, consider Gene Simmons firmly in JoJo Siwa's corner. The rocker shared that he's a big fan of Siwa's new look because of course he is.
"JoJo is cool," Simmons said via People. "Anybody who doesn't get it is just jealous, period." Simmons had a strong message to any haters on social media. They should leave Siwa alone. He also offered words of encouragement to the singer, saying that she should always strive to be bold.
"Never be ordinary. Always be extraordinary. JoJo is extraordinary, and she looks cool," Simmons said. Of course, even he noticed the similarities between the two. Siwa looked very much like Simmons' daughter while wearing the outfit. "Of course, she looks like me, but that's another story."
Simmons meant that as a compliment. But people online got downright rude and mean. One person wrote, "Her 'new era' would be more interesting if it was original and not just a carbon copy of KISS." Another commented, "It took a year to rip the band aid off, and this is the big reveal? Temu Gene Simmons? So sad."
Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for iHeartRadio
JoJo Siwa Defends Look
Siwa herself defended the look. "People are afraid of things they don't know," she said. "Things can be scary for people. New things can be very, very scary."
Siwa meant for the look to be her bold new adult look as she tries to reimagine herself. She said that she's proud of the direction that she's going with her career, and several people have complimented her.
"The way that I'm able to keep going and keep being like, 'Wait, actually what I'm doing is right,'" Siwa explained, "is because some of the most respected people in the world have come up to me and been like, 'What you're doing right now is so right. It is what the world needs, and I'm learning from what you are doing right now.'"
Still, perhaps Siwa and Simmons might have a duet in the future. Wouldn't that be rocking?
