Topline
Grammy-winning pop star Doja Cat stirred up controversy over the weekend when she posted a series of since-deleted tweets slamming her admirers for calling themselves “Kittenz,” telling those who run “creepy” fan accounts to delete them and saying she doesn’t love her fans because “i don’t even know yall.”
Doja Cat attends The 2023 Met Gala Celebrating “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty” at The … [+] Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 01, 2023 in New York City. Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris
Key Facts
The Twitter tirade started when the musician, whose legal name is Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini, called out fans who’ve nicknamed themselves “Kittenz,” similarly to how fans of Taylor Swift call themselves “Swifties,” Justin Bieber’s following is made up of “Beliebers” and Lady Gaga has a loyal fan base of “Little Monsters.”
“My fans don’t name themselves shit,” she tweeted, later elaborating to say fan pages that use her “government name” are “creepy as f**k,” and telling those who have to delete their “entire account and rethink everything.”
The tweets have since been deleted but were captured and reposted by a number of entertainment accounts and websites, including Page-Six.
Doja Cat’s tweets sparked a controversy on Twitter, where some fans slammed her for being ungrateful “to the people that practically pay her bills,” and others defended her behavior: “Doja Cat is deeply weird when it comes to many things… but she is objectively correct in making fun of her fans and the fact idols can’t do that is an indictment of their industry,” one user wrote.
Some of the most-followed fan accounts of the artist, including @TheKittensRoom and @dojanews, had deactivated their accounts as of Sunday night.
Crucial Quote
“Doja being mean to her fans for… the word kitten like her name isn’t doja CAT and she wasn’t dressed as a cat and meowed her way through an entire interview a few months ago oh she has lost her mind,” one fan tweeted.
Big Number
22. That’s how many songs Doja Cat has had on the Billboard Hot 100, including one No 1. hit and seven top-10 hits. She has released three studio albums.
Other Celebrities Who’ve Dissed Their Fans
Robert Pattinson—The star of the popular Twilight franchise famously criticized the movies, the books they were based on and the people who like them. Pattinson, who played vampire Edward Cullen, said the books should have never been published, that Twilight tells a “weird story” and said he thinks it’s “crazy” and “strange” that people are fans.
Robert Pattinson on Oct. 5, 2019 in Mill Valley, California. Photo by Kimberly White
Rhianna—The Super Bowl performer caught flak in 2014 when she mocked a fan for copying her style. A teenager wore a dress to prom meant to look like one Rihanna wore years earlier, and the singer reportedly made fun of the fan by posting a photo of the teen’s outfit side-by-side with the logo of Wu-Tang Clan.
Rihanna arrives at The Fashion Awards 2019 held at Royal Albert Hall on Dec. 2, 2019 in London, … [+] England. Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage
Russell Crowe—Crowe was criticized in 2015 when he told the crowds of The Late Late Show to “shut up.” Crowe performed with the show’s band and, when audience members started clapping along, told them, “If you’re going to clap, clap in time. If you can’t clap in time just shut up.”
Actor Russell Crowe attends the premiere of “The Water Diviner” at TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX on April … [+] 16, 2015 in Hollywood, California. Photo by Jason LaVeris
William Shatner—The son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry called a now 37-year-old Saturday Night Live skit “disrespectful” to fans of the series Shatner starred in for three years. In the skit, Shatner told fans to “Get a life” and made fun of the way they dressed at conventions. It was a controversial move, criticized by some fans and embraced by others who noted his monologue at the start of the episode, called Trekkies “truly incredible” and asked they “have a sense of humor.”
William Shatner attends the William Shatner’s Priceline.com Hollywood Charity Horse Show Hosted By … [+] Wells Fargo at Los Angeles Equestrian Center on June 2, 2018 in Burbank, California. Photo by Greg Doherty/Getty Images
Simon Pegg—The actor who played Unkar Plutt in Star Wars: Episode VII wasn’t exactly rude to the fans of Star Wars, but did criticize their “toxic” behavior last summer. When asked which fandom was the most difficult, Pegg replied the Star Wars fan base was “the most toxic at the moment.” Pegg himself blasted the performance of Jar Jar Binks in the 2000s films and actor Ahmed Best said he considered taking his own life after fans piled on. Pegg later apologized.
Actor Simon Pegg attends the European Premiere of ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ at Royal Albert Hall on … [+] December 12, 2017 in London, England. Photo by Stuart C. Wilson
Further Reading
Doja Cat rips supporters for ‘creepy’ fan accounts, ‘Kittenz’ nickname: ‘Get a job’ (Page-Six)
Stranger Things’ Joseph Quinn And Noah Schnapp Inspire Bizarre Celebrity Drama With Doja Cat (Forbes)
Doja Cat, Rock Star? Seems Like It, According To The Billboard Charts (Forbes)
