JoJo Siwa's Look For 'Hannah Montana' Special Sparks Debate After Her "Trad Wife" Transformation

JoJo Siwa’s appearance at the Hannah Montana: 20th Anniversary Special premiere at the El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles on March 23 once again had netizens talking about her transformation.

The Karma singer showed up in a sparkly purple T-shirt with the number 23 on it and a black short skirt. She wore a pair of white and orange sneakers with shimmering details, and had her hair tied in a braid.

Siwa, 22, who was recently accused of rebranding herself as a “trad wife,” faced backlash on social media for her attire.

“She is too old to still be this confused,” one person commented on X.

After coming out as a lesbian in 2021, Siwa established herself as one of the entertainment industry's influential voices for the LGBTQ community.

She often wore the rainbow of the Pride flag on her clothes and even had her hair dyed the same at one point.

In July 2025, she revealed a surprising new look for her cover of Kim Carnes’ 1981 hit Bette Davis Eyes, after getting a positive response to her live performance of the song at concerts in London and Mexico.

Inspired by Old Hollywood style, she sported a short, curly blonde bob, a frilly blue crop top, a three-strand white pearl necklace, and red lipstick.

During the live shows, she also changed the lyrics of the song to “Chris Hughes eyes,” as a tribute to her boyfriend.

The two things together ignited “trad wife allegations” against Siwa, as Bored Panda previously reported.

The term “trad wife” is short for “traditional wife,” which has gained popularity in some social media spheres where conventional gender roles in a heterosexual relationship or marriage are promoted.

She changed her name on TikTok to Joelle Siwa as well, which many took as another attempt at moving away from her queer identity.

Now, her appearance at the Hannah Montana event has fans believing she has reverted to her old personality.

“I fear we need a word stronger than identity crisis for her,” one user said. Another commented, “She's got an identity crisis along with Ariana Grande.”

“Rebrand didn’t work, so now it’s back to the bows and glitter,” a third said.

A fourth chimed in: “I need JoJo to realize how pretty she is so she can stop this mess once and for all.”

“I have a STRONG feeling it’s all an act,” another person wrote, echoing a common sentiment among many of her followers.

In an October 2025 interview with CNN Entertainment, Siwa addressed the “trad wife” allegations head-on: “It was basically a Halloween costume. People really thought I was changing everything — like, d*mn, it was a good wig! I don’t know where ‘trad wife’ came from.”

Many of Siwa’s fans felt betrayed when she confirmed her relationship with sports presenter and former Love Island star Chris Hughes, whom she met on Celebrity Big Brother in 2025. The 10-year age gap added fuel to the fire.

Many have accused her of cheating on her ex-partner as well, since Siwa was still in a relationship with Australian actor Kath Ebbs when she met Hughes.

One person commented: “Identifying as a lesbian woman and trying to claim yourself as a gay/queer icon, then not even 6 months later, cheating on your GF with a man. Really, girl?”

“So was the gay thing a PR move lol or is this? I’m so confused,” said another.

Siwa admitted in June 2025 that she felt pressured to come out as a lesbian and is much more comfortable with the pansexual label.

“When I came out at 17, I said: ‘I’m pansexual, because I don’t care [about gender], but then I kind of boxed myself in, and I said: ‘I’m a lesbian.’ And I think I did that because of pressure,” Siwa said.

“In a weird way, I think it came a little bit from inside the [LGBTQ] community at times, from people I know, from partners I’ve had.”

Around the same time, she clarified in an E! News interview that she identified as queer.

“I think the most beautiful term now is queer,” Siwa said. “I think queer is an umbrella of, ‘Look, I'm just me.’ And I think the most beautiful thing about the LGBTQIA community is ‘love is love.’ And that goes both ways.”

Miley Cyrus, whom Siwa considers one of her musical idols, made a joke about the Boomerang singer’s s*xuality after she got into a relationship with Hughes.

In a World Pride video message last June, speaking from inside a closet, Cyrus said: “Oh my god, I haven’t been in here since sixth grade.”

“Enjoy coming out of the closet if this Pride is the time for you,” said the Hannah Montana star, who also identifies as pansexual.

Ending the video, Cyrus added with a laugh: “I am going back inside to get more pretzels and find JoJo Siwa and bring her back out.”

A few days later, Siwa took to Instagram to share her thoughts on Cyrus’ comments.

She shared photos from her Miley Cyrus-themed five-year birthday party, and wrote: “I don’t believe what Miley said at World Pride was ill intended, honestly I think it was meant to be a joke, but just not a very good one, haha. Not what the world, or myself needs to hear any day of the week.”

“I messaged Miley light-heartedly about it, and she replied and said, ‘All love. Always.’”