Doja Cat has recently faced backlash on social media, causing her to lose a ton of followers. It seems like close to 800,000 “fans” have decided to unfollow her. Why? You remember her fans wanted to be called “Kittenz,” but she wasn’t with that. She hated it so much she basically told them to get a life. “My fans don’t get to name themselves s–t,” she said in June. And then she dug in even more. “If you call yourself a ‘Kitten’ or f–king ‘Kittenz’ that means you need to get off your phone and get a job and help your parents with the house,” she stabbed farther.
Doja didn’t apologize nor retract her statements. She has actually doubled down and feels good about it. The singer/rapper believes that shedding these fake fans allows her to be her true self. In a recent Instagram post, she expounded on her position. “Seeing all these people unfollow makes me feel like I’ve defeated a large beast that’s been holding me down for so long and it feels like I can reconnect with the people who really matter and love me for who i am and not for who i was,” she wrote on Instagram. “I feel free.”
Confident in her genuine supporters, she forges ahead. In an audio clip, she said, “I don’t care if you like my music or not. There’s a lot of people I don’t like who I listen to their music, and there’s a lot of people I don’t know that I listen to their music. If I knew them, I probably wouldn’t like them.”
The situation has sparked conversations about the dynamics between artists and their fans, especially on social media. Doja Cat is truly different and really holds her position even though she has lost a lot of following on social media. She has even demanded her personal life was off limits. But will this really hurt Doja Cat?
A massive social media followings doesn’t always translate into substantial record sales. The number of followers doesn’t even always correlate with genuine engagement or support. Doja Cat seems to make the distinction between nosey followers and dedicated supporters.
Her new song, “Paint The Town Red,” has 11 million views on YouTube alone. Somebody is supporting.