Why Doja Cat Threatened to Quit Music and What It Says About Fame in 2022

If she quits, we quit 🥺

It’s been a full-on week for our gal Doja Cat.

Within a few days, she went from clashing with fans and quitting music through a series of tweets, to taking her comments back and apologising for the whole ordeal.

This isn’t the first time backlash has gotten to a star and led them to want to quit altogether – here’s the rundown on the whole sitch, and what it says about being an icon in 2022.

Let’s start from the beginning.

It all started with a festival cancellation. The rapper was set to play in Paraguay, South America last Tuesday before the event was cancelled due to high winds and weather warnings.

Fans took to Twitter to express their disappointment in Doja’s lack of social media posts about the cancellation, and not going out of her way to still take pictures with her fans who were waiting outside of her hotel.

We weren’t aware Doja Cat controlled the weather? Crazy stuff.

So Doja cat is cancelled bc she cancelled a show due to a natural disaster and now it’s turned into “we went to her hotel and she wouldn’t come outside so we’re heartbroken”? Wtf pic.twitter.com/sL1TzGud8L

— shully the gringo they/them🇺🇦 (@shullus) March 26, 2022

Meanwhile, when fans prodded for an apology, she simply tweeted: “I’m not sorry” in response. Yikes.

In later posts, she exclaimed she was quitting, and couldn’t wait to “disappear”, adding she was a “fool” for thinking she was made for this industry.

Doja Cat fans' hearts collectively broke following those emotionally charged tweets.

Doja has since apologised.

The singer has since dialled back her promise to quit and apologised to fans for her behaviour in new tweets.

She put fans’ fears to rest and returned to Twitter to give gratitude and reflect on the benefits of her career.

I am. https://t.co/tT1QFiuVIJ

— mike penis (@DojaCat) March 27, 2022

I can travel, I can eat good food, I can see new people, I can smile, I can make memories that I dreamed of having, I can laugh, I can support my family and my friends, I can learn about the world, and I can give back to everyone because of you. I do owe people shit. I owe a lot.

— mike penis (@DojaCat) March 27, 2022

Let’s talk about the bigger issue here.

Doja Cat later elaborated:

I’m not discrediting myself. I work my ass off. I know that. It’s tiring but i’m not suffering because of people like you. My suffering comes from myself. Not everybody else. It’s my problem but you guys always help me solve it when you support me the way you’ve been. https://t.co/Nzihf3YoSQ

— mike penis (@DojaCat) March 27, 2022

Because of how vulnerable she’s been, fans perhaps feel closer to her and therefore think that they're entitled to being a part of her life and maybe expect way more than what she can deliver (see also: parasocial relationships.)

Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran Nicki Minaj, and SZA, to name a few, have all teased early retirement in the past due to backlash, exhaustion and unhappiness.

Late last year, UK rapper Octavian announced he was quitting music because "all this negativity is draining."

Earlier in 2021, up-and-coming, Grammy-nominated artist CHIKA also announced she’s quitting because of the “mental toll” the music industry was taking on her, calling out “psychotic fans” who she claimed were “rejoicing in the decline” of her mental health.

It’s pretty scary stuff, and we can sit here and say “that’s just showbiz, baby!” all we want, but the reality is if unwarranted negativity and backlash is enough to push someone so far over the edge to want to quit a career they’ve worked tirelessly for, is it really worth it?

Instead of saying this is what celebrities “signed up for,” let's appreciate the art and try remembering this:

Despite peddling back on quitting, she did reply with “yes the f*** I am” to a MIX 105.1 tweet saying she wasn’t retiring, which still has us collectively sweating.

Fingers crossed she can take the break she deserves without leaving for good!

Header Image: Doja Cat via Twitter.