Starting from the beginning of time, there has been and always will be controversy. One of the recent infamous examples is Doja Cat, a pop singer famous for songs like “Kiss Me More” (2021) and “Need to Know ” (2021) from her “Planet Her” album. From disputes with fans to racism allegations to problems within her love life to a changing image, Doja Cat has a hefty rap sheet. Her first controversy started in 2020 when she was allegedly caught in racist chatrooms on a forum called TinyChat. Doja Cat was blasted across many different social media platforms, including X (formerly Twitter).
“She was on chat rooms like saying racist things to fetishize herself,” Karma Green (10) said. “I think that’s just, kind of, I think that’s a very big no-no for me.”
Early on, this caused many to turn away from her music. Especially many Black people who saw it as disheartening to see that she was not proud of her heritage. Later in that year, singer Nas mentioned Doja in his song “Ultra Black” (2020), calling her the opposite of proudly Black. She addressed the claims in a now-deleted Instagram post, saying that while she should not have been on the site in the first place, she never participated in any racist conversation topics. In addition to this controversy, Doja Cat has been under fire for associating with alleged sexual assaulters.
“I know that her boyfriend was accused of sexual assault,” Green said.
In June of this year, Doja Cat was seen out with former Vine comedian J. Cyrus. In the time since they were photographed, multiple sexual assault allegations have been brought up against him online, although he is in no legal battles currently. Many have urged the artist to acknowledge her boyfriend’s supposed victims, but she deflected by talking about her fan’s parasocial relationships. Parasocial relationships come from fans interacting with certain media and celebrities and creating a one-sided friendship with them. It becomes unhealthy for the celebrity when they see fans encroaching on their personal lives despite not having an actual relationship with the fan. While some see this as a genuine problem for Doja Cat, it felt like a diversion to others, especially after her comment in July.
“So, a fan of hers asked her to say ‘I love you’ because that was a thing that she used to do frequently, and then Doja Cat proceeded to like say that her fans were worthless and lazy and that they should get a job instead of like, sitting on their parents’ couch,” Green said. “So I was like, that’s a bit of an overreaction.”
The interaction publicly happened on Twitter, and it disheartened many fans to see the sudden change in Doja Cat’s attitude. Doja Cat had frequently reffered to her fans as a nickname she personally gave them: Kittens,’ So it seemed odd for Doja Cat to suddenly turn on the people who had supported her career.
“The fact that she gave them a name [and] she doesn’t want them to be called by that anymore … is just rude,” Markayla Bridges (9) said.
Bridges feels that Doja Cat’s sudden betrayal of her fans ,her turn to devilish imagery and lyrics on her newest album, Scarlet, are evidence of something bad going on in the artist’s life. Bridges was previously a fan before Doja Cat’s comment about fans and her demonic costumes.
“I feel like I don’t know what has happened with her,” Bridges said, “but I feel like it’s more like a negative attitude towards her fans, other people and religions.”
Doja Cat previously said that her old music was not truly representative of her as a person, it was more of a ploy to make money but that her new album would be a complete style change. It was evident in the change of marketing and the themes of her lyrics, but former fans believe there is not much of a difference.
“I did see her like say that she was gonna change her music, but her music sounds pretty similar to her old style to me,” Green said.
All in all, while most of the controversies are alleged, Doja Cat’s altercations have still lost her a portion of her fan base.
“[I don’t listen to her] anymore because of everything that’s happened,” Bridges said.