Social media star JoJo Siwa is no longer involved in her planned feature film debut Bounce, a movie backed by Will Smith and his Westbrook production empire.
The Dancing with the Stars contestant and popular YouTuber said she was no longer attached to the project, which is based on a young adult novel of the same name, while Paramount Pictures are also reported to have backed out.
“That project got put on hold, and then went away,” Siwa told Variety. “It wasn’t the one.”
The literary adaptation’s failure is not due to the recent Will Smith slap of Chris Rock at the Oscars, though, according to Variety‘s sources. The film was first announced in the middle of 2020 and brought to Paramount by Caleeb Pinkett, the sister of Jada Pinkett Smith.
The announcement of the movie initially caused some waves because Siwa, who is a prominent LGBTQ figure, came out as pansexual about a month before, and revealed there was a kissing scene with a male co star.
“I’m madly in love and I do not want to kiss another human,” Siwa said at the time. “Especially because it’s a man. I’m not about it. I’m trying to get it pulled so bad.”
The kiss was reportedly pulled from the script. She told Variety that while the project’s failure wasn’t based on Smith’s actions, it was important for people to be kind to each other.
“I normally stay out of all politics, it’s not my gig. But, I will say that being kind to one another is very important. I think that can go both ways, kindness.”
Without a star or studio, never mind the Smith connections at a time where many of his projects are being put on hold, it’s back to the drawing board for Bounce.
