JoJo Siwa has never been shy about owning her narrative, but this week she opened up about a *Dancing With the Stars* memory that still makes her flinch — and fans are not handling it well.
During a new episode of her podcast, the 21-year-old pop star and former *Dance Moms* alum admitted that rewatching her historic same-sex partner season with Jenna Johnson is complicated.
The pair made headlines in 2021 as the show's first same-sex couple, a move that earned them a mirrorball finalist spot and a mountain of praise.
But Siwa says the internet's reaction at the time wasn't all love. "I remember reading comments that had nothing to do with our dancing," she said, describing a wave of criticism about her costumes, her hair, and her age. "I was 18.
I was a kid." The clip has racked up millions of views across TikTok and X, with fans digging up old tweets to defend her.
The timing is interesting. *DWTS* is currently in its milestone 34th season, and the show has leaned hard into casting personalities with built-in fanbases — reality stars, Olympians, and TikTok creators.
Siwa's season is now widely credited with helping push the franchise toward its modern, social-first era.
Producers have even referenced her partnership as a turning point in how they approach casting.
But the real viral fuel is the feud energy.
Some fans are convinced Siwa threw subtle shade at a former judge, while others think she's simply reflecting on a rough press cycle.
Neither Siwa nor ABC has commented further, which has only made the speculation louder.
Siwa's podcast episode jumped into the top 10 on Spotify's comedy charts within 24 hours, and her name trended on X for most of Tuesday.
Clips of her talking about the DWTS ballroom have been stitched, remixed, and meme'd into oblivion.
For a star who built her brand on rainbow bows and relentless positivity, the shift toward honesty is a smart play.
Siwa is currently promoting a new music era and a Las Vegas residency, and vulnerability sells better than perfection in 2025.
Her fans — the "Siwanatorz" — are eating it up, flooding her comments with support and calling out the accounts that piled on years ago.
The bigger question is whether *DWTS* will acknowledge the moment on air.
The show loves a nostalgia callback, and a surprise Siwa cameo during a results night would break the internet.
Given how the season is going, it wouldn't be the wildest thing to happen this year.
Our take: Siwa doesn't need a mirrorball to win this round.
By naming the discomfort out loud, she's turned an old wound into new momentum — and reminded everyone why she was never just a kid with a bow.
Final Thoughts
The ballroom may have moved on, but the conversation clearly hasn't.