JoJo Siwa’s grandma encouraged her to “take a shot” on stage.
The 21-year-old star admitted one of her “favorite parts” of her performances at Pride festivals has been when she “drinks the alcohol” and she explained she was persuaded to incorporate it into her sets after her her older relative told her it was something she “should” do.
Speaking on her own JoJo Siwa Now podcast, she said: “This idea of doing this stemmed from, I was in rehearsals and we were starting a new routine [for] ‘Yesterday’s Tomorrow’s Today,’ and my 21st birthday had just passed.
“I was like, ‘I wanna f—ing take a shot before this.’ And my grandma was like, ‘Alright, JoJo. You should do it.’ And I was like, alright. Let’s do it!”
The “Karma” singer’s drink ritual saw her audience go “absolutely ballistic” and the former Dance Moms star noted it became a particularly “big thing” during Los Angeles Pride in the Park last month.
She said: “I bought out a jug of Tito’s, and people were like, ‘Woah. What are you doing? Is it real? Is it fake?’
“And I was like, ‘B—h, it is what it f—ing is. It’s a bottle of Tito’s.’”
The “Guilty Pleasure” star has performed at a string of Pride festivals in recent months, including in Los Angeles, London, New York, Miami and Chicago and was delighted to break audience records at the latter two shows.
She wrote on Instagram about her Chicago show: “Chicago Pride WHAT THE F–K!!
“What a time to be alive. Yesterday was unreal. I found out I set the record for most people in attendance at Chicago Pride at 2 a f—ing clock in the afternoon… THAT IS NUTTY.”
“You all really did that, showed up and had the best time with me.
“I saw you all with your posters, ur … KARMA MAKEUP YOU ICONS, some construction vests, some JOJO BOWS, f—ing epic. Best f—ing time I love you THANK YOU.”