JoJo Siwa's mom taught her to 'embrace' the 'hate' during 'Dance Moms' days

JoJo Siwa had to learn how to navigate hate from her childhood days on Dance Moms and has carried those lessons with her since.

In her new Ladygunn cover story, published Sept. 23, the singer and reality star reflected on her time as the "most hated" cast member on the hit show, and how her mom, Jessalynn Siwa, turned it into a teachable moment.

“I was the most hated on that show," JoJo, 21, shared. "But my mom was like, ‘Nobody can take away what you did.’”

Despite negative comments, Jessalynn reminded JoJo that attention, good or bad, meant people were still paying attention.

"Sure, people were commenting, ‘We want JoJo to go home,’ but people were also commenting, ‘We want JoJo,’” JoJo noted.

Starting her journey at just 9 years old on Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition, Siwa said she learned early that in the public eye, “attention is attention,” whether it’s good or bad. That mindset continues today as she builds her career.

Now with a new management team, Siwa emphasised she’s not interested in just winning people over: “They were like, alright, we got to get people to rally around you and really start to like you. And I was like, oh no, that’s not the point.”