JoJo Siwa’s predecessor is speaking out in her defense amid plagiarism allegations surrounding her new song.
After the Dance Moms alum, 20, released the music video and single for “Karma” earlier this month, the song’s original performer, Brit Smith, denied that Siwa stole the track from her .
“I’m here to set the record straight once and for all. JoJo didn’t steal my song,” Smith began in a TikTok video on Sunday.
“There’s been a lot of discussion and a lot of comments and they’re still going on, so I just thought I’d let myself come here and hopefully put an end to that,” she added.
Smith recorded the song and music video for “Karma’s a Bitch” with Rock Mafia and Timbaland in 2012 as his first dropped single, after Miley Cyrus passed on the track from her third album Can’t Be Tamed in 2010.
After JoJo Siwa released the music video and single for “Karma” earlier this month, the song’s original performer, Brit Smith, denied that Siwa stole the track from her.
Smith recorded the song and music video for “Karma’s a Bitch” with Rock Mafia and Timbaland in 2012 as his first dropped single, after Miley Cyrus passed on the track from her third album Can’t Be Tamed in 2010.
Label executives encouraged her to debut with “Provocative” in 2013, but the single ultimately underperformed and Smith left the industry.
“She had every right to record her version, and I hate to see anyone think that I’m part of some type of bullying or something like that,” Smith said of Siwa.
“I was bullied in high school and I know what that feels like, and I would never want anyone to think I was a part of any of that,” she added. “I just want to make it clear that JoJo didn’t do anything wrong to me.”
Smith’s version has since resurfaced on social media, with the video going viral and the song reaching #8 on the US iTunes pop charts, overtaking Siwa’s version at #89.
“It’s been a crazy whirlwind since last week,” she said of the response.
“The support you guys and I have shown me by saying ‘we want to make his dreams come true 12 years later’ has been incredibly kind – and even kind of inspired me a little bit to think about possibly returning to this domain. “
Smith plans to finally release her original EP on May 17 because she still has the songs “in my computer.”
Siwa has since responded to the allegations, telling TMZ, “I didn’t steal anything. There’s no such thing as theft – I don’t know who Brit Smith is either.
When the interviewer explained Smith’s viral success, Siwa said it was “clearly not that viral because I didn’t even see it.”
Siwa has since responded to the allegations, telling TMZ, “I didn’t steal anything. There’s no such thing as theft – I don’t know who Brit Smith is either.
Ahead of her debut studio album, Siwa ushered in a new, darker artistic era by releasing the lead single this month.
When the interviewer explained Smith’s viral success, Siwa said it was “clearly not that viral because I didn’t even see it.”
“Honestly, it’s an old song,” she explained. “I started it. I loved it, I was obsessed with it, so I stuck with it.
Siwa added: “It’s a very normal thing… What happens is people write songs and then they don’t do anything with them. And then, a few years later, it takes on more meaning for another artist.
“I just knew this song was a special song, I knew it was a work of art and I knew it was exactly the vision I wanted to create for the world,” Siwa said.
Ahead of her debut studio album, Siwa ushered in a new, darker artistic era by releasing the lead single this month.
JoJo Siwa’s “Karma” and Britt Smith’s “Karma’s a Bitch” are now available to stream and download.