JoJo Siwa's predecessor is coming to her defense amid plagiarism allegations around her new song.
After the Dance Moms alum, 20, dropped the video and single for 'Karma' earlier this month, the song's original performer Brit Smith denied that Siwa stole the track from her.
'I am here to set the record straight once and for all. JoJo did not steal my song,' Smith began in a TikTok video on Sunday.
'There's been a lot of talk and a lot of comments and they just keep going, so I just thought let me come on here and hopefully put an end to this,' she added.
Smith recorded the song and video for 'Karma's a Bitch' with Rock Mafia and Timbaland in 2012 as her scrapped debut single, after Miley Cyrus passed on the track for her third album Can't Be Tamed in 2010.
After JoJo Siwa dropped the 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 video for 'Karma's a Bitch' with Rock Mafia and Timbaland in 2012 as her scrapped debut single, after Miley Cyrus passed on the track for her third album Can't Be Tamed in 2010
Label execs encouraged her to go with 'Provocative' as her debut in 2013, but the single ultimately underperformed and Smith left the industry.
'She was totally in the right to record her version, and I hate to see that anybody would think that I'm a part of any kind of bullying or anything like that,' said Smith of Siwa.
'I was bullied in high school and I know what that feels like, and I would never want to be thought to be part of any part of that,' she added. 'I just want to make it clear that JoJo has done nothing wrong to me.'
Smith's version has since resurfaced on social media, with the video going viral and the song peaking at No. 8 on the US iTunes pop charts, surpassing Siwa's version at No. 89.
'It has been a crazy whirlwind since for the last week,' she said of the response.
'The support you've shown me and you guys saying "we wanna make her dreams come true 12 year later" has just been so unbelievably nice – and even kind of inspired me a little bit to think about stepping back into this possibly.'
Smith plans to finally release her original EP on May 17 as 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 stealing — I also don't know who Brit Smith is.'
When the interviewer explained Smith's viral success, Siwa said it's 'clearly not that viral 'cause I haven't even seen it.'
Siwa has since responded to the allegations, telling TMZ: 'I didn't steal anything. There's no such thing as stealing — I also don't know who Brit Smith is'
Ahead of her debut studio album, Siwa signaled a new darker artistic era as she released the lead single this month
When the interviewer explained Smith's viral success, Siwa said it's 'clearly not that viral 'cause I haven't even seen it'
'Honestly, it's an old song,' she explained. 'I was pitched it. I loved it, was obsessed with it, so I grasped onto it.'
Siwa added, 'That's a very normal thing… What happens is, people write songs and then they just don't do anything with them. And then, a few years later, it makes more sense for another artist.
'I just knew that song was a special song, I knew it was a work of art, and I knew that it fit exactly the vision I wanted to create for the world,' said Siwa.
Ahead of her debut studio album, Siwa signaled a new darker artistic era as she released the lead single this month.
JoJo Siwa's 'Karma' and Britt Smith's 'Karma's a Bitch' are now available for streaming and download.
A memorial opens on the site of a Nazi concentration camp for Roma after a pig farm was removed
Japan looks into Tokyo airport crash, over 300 flights canceled
U.S. California's homelessness keeps rising: report
Lionel Messi scores fifth goal and has an assist in Inter Miami's 3
Alec Baldwin furiously smacks anti
Sex crimes charges dropped against California Marine after missing teen found in barracks
Lionel Messi scores fifth goal and has an assist in Inter Miami's 3
World leaders must break deadly cycle of global warming at COP28 climate conference, warns UN chief
Kid Cudi says he broke 'something in my heel' after falling off stage during his last
Iraqi president visits Cyprus for 1st time