Doja Cat isn’t upset over all of the followers she lost after her latest public scandal, instead saying the decrease in fan engagement makes her feel “free.”
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The “Paint The Town Red” singer spoke with Harper’s Bazaar ahead of their September 2023 “Icons” issue, telling the publication that she doesn’t feel like an icon.
“I think I deserve love and respect from the people that I love and respect back — and I guess respect means different things to some people,” she told the outlet.
Still, that doesn’t mean that Doja thinks she’s deserving of respect without any criticism.
“I put myself out there on social media and TV,” she explained. “I love positive feedback. I appreciate when people speak up for someone who is getting bullied or attacked by internet trolls. … Some of the most moving moments for me have been when my fans have stood up for me or for other people.”
This commentary from Doja Cat comes shortly after she was scrutinized for her latest confusing interaction with fans, which offended a lot of her biggest supporters.
After the rapper was spotted packing on the PDA during numerous outings with rumored boyfriend J Cyrus — a Twitch streamer accused of emotionally abusing his community — fans voiced just how upset they were over the pairing, asking Doja Cat to address the controversy.
That’s what set the singer off, drawing a line in the sand and letting her fans know that they aren’t entitled to any sort of explanation when it comes to her personal life.
“I DON’T GIVE A F*** WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT MY PERSONAL LIFE I NEVER HAVE AND NEVER WILL GIVE A F*** WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT ME OR MY PERSONAL LIFE,” she tweeted at the time. “GOODBYE AND GOOD RIDDANCE MISERABLE HOES HAHA!”
She went on to engage with her fans more on Threads, letting them know she hated their fandom name, “Kittenz” among other gripes. Doja has lost more than 500,000 Instagram followers since the feud with her fan base, but while talking to Harper’s Bazaar, she didn’t seem bothered by that.
“My theory is that if someone has never met me in real life, then, subconsciously, I’m not real to them,” she told the publication. “So when people become engaged with someone they don’t even know on the internet, they kind of take ownership over that person. They think that person belongs to them in some sense. And when that person changes drastically, there is a shock response that is almost uncontrollable. … I’ve accepted that that’s what happens.”
She continued, “So I put my wigs on and take them off. I shave my head or my eyebrows. I have all the freedom in the world.”
The rapper also posted a Story to Instagram on Wednesday where she addressed her big follower purge.
“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. “I feel free.”
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