JoJo Siwa Reveals Her Favorite Holiday Comfort Foods - Exclusive Interview
While JoJo Siwa first appeared on screens across the country on the popular series "Dance Moms" as a child, she has continued to pique America's interest. With her openness and infectious enthusiasm, it's easy to see why she has captured the imagination of her 12.2 million subscribers on her hugely successful YouTube channel. The social media star has also appeared on "Dancing with the Stars," "Top Chef Family Style," and "So You Think You Can Dance."
In an exclusive interview, Siwa told us about her new partnership with Ocean Spray, which is celebrating the 110th anniversary of its beloved cranberry sauce. To help commemorate this milestone, the actor is sharing a new TikTok dance with her 44.6 million followers that invites them to jiggle to a new version of "Wiggle, Wiggle, Jiggle, Jiggle." Siwa also revealed her favorite comfort foods that always remind her of home, the classic Thanksgiving dish that she only just tried recently, and which restaurant is her favorite spot for date nights.
Her collaboration with Ocean Spray and favorite holiday meal
What's it like to team up with an iconic brand like Ocean Spray?
So iconic. [I] remember being four years old watching the Ocean Spray TV commercials, thinking that it was the coolest thing ever. But genuinely, the most exciting part is that the jellied cranberry sauce is by far one of my favorite foods in the world. I can't even explain to you how often and how many meals I put the jelly cranberry sauce on. It's insane. No one even had to ask me to be like, "I like this jelly cranberry sauce." When I got the pitch to work with Ocean Spray, I was like, "You guys do understand that I actually that morning was eating a sandwich with the jellied cranberry sauce on it?" I'm obsessed.
Can you tell me more about the new TikTok duet and what it involves?
The Jiggle With Us challenge, it's so fun. The thing that I love about Jiggle With Us is it's something that anybody can do. I've been joking around, saying, "Your friends can do it, your family can do it, and also your dog can do it." It's a challenge for everyone and everything, and that is so fun, and I cannot wait to see how creative people get with it.
What are some of the basic dance moves involved with it?
It's so simple. You don't even have to learn anything. All you got to do is set your camera up so you either see the top half of your body or the lower half of your body, and you just wiggle. However the music and the cranberry jelly make you feel inspired, you just go for it.
What are some comfort meals you like that make you think of growing up in Nebraska?
Of course, Thanksgiving. My mom always made Thanksgiving, so that's always like, "Ah, I feel like I'm home," even though I am home. It feels like home. My mom makes this incredible meal called chicken and broccoli that we are all obsessed with. It's this amazing casserole. It's been in her family for years, and we actually eat it with cranberry jelly, which is so funny. It's literally our favorite. Those would probably be my favorites.
Cranberry sauce is a classic dish to have during Thanksgiving. What are other types of treats you enjoy during the holidays?
I love ... I'm a green bean casserole girl — love a green bean casserole. I love stuffing. It's a newfound love. Just last year I started to like it because I was shooting this Friendsgiving with Facebook, and I was so hungry and the stuffing smelled so good that all I wanted to do is eat it. So I ate it. It was [about] two hours old.
You didn't like stuffing before then?
I had never had it. You know when your mom doesn't like a food, so you don't like a food? With stuffing, my mom was like, "No, it's not good." So I was like, "Yeah, no, I don't like it either." [I] realiz[ed] that I had never tried it, and then I think Jenna [Johnson] was like, "You've never had stuffing? It's amazing. Try it." I was like, "Okay." She convinced my brain to be able to try anything, so we tried it and we love it.
How her food choices have changed over time
How would you say your taste in different types of food has changed as you've gotten older?
Insanely. When I was little, I lived off of pizza rolls, chicken fingers, ramen noodles, and fruit roll-ups, and I loved it. It was great — Lucky Charms, tubs of frosting, anything and everything. But now, in these last ... Really, this year, I've become such a healthy eater. I love eating anything healthy, everything organic, even down to bread. I used to be like, "I'll have some simple Wonder Bread, peanut butter, jelly." But now I'm like, "I like Dave's Power bread that's made with 23 whole grains and has 12 grams of protein in each slice." Not like, "I watch what I eat," but I do definitely care about what I eat now, if that makes sense.
What you eat also impacts the way you feel.
Totally. And it's crazy [how] I've totally flipped to where, if I see pizza, it doesn't really look that good to me, but if I see this incredible-looking salad, I'm like, "Oh my god, that looks like heaven." It's completely flipped.
That makes sense, though I still have to have a little pizza every now and then.
Once every so often. But I've learned there's super-yummy healthy alternatives to everything. For me, cauliflower crust pizza is so much better than normal pizza. It's insane. I try to convince my family, but they don't agree with me. What I learned with healthy food is you got to try it because some healthy food is amazing and other healthy food is the grossest thing you'll ever have in your life. It's a balance of you got to try it to see if it's good or not.
I saw one of your videos where you're trying to eat the most cake in one minute. What's your favorite type of cake that you can't get enough of?
Classic cake from a grocery store. The cheaper, the better. The sugariest frosting. Oh my gosh. I'm a marble girl. I really love the marble. It's so good. But yeah, vanilla, chocolate, anything. Oh my gosh, it's so good. The last time I had cake, I was in Orlando with Avery [Cyrus], and she was like, "Come here, JoJo. This cake smells really funny." I was like, "What do you mean?" She was like, "Just smell it. It smells funny." Then she shoved my face into it, and that was the best moment of my life because it tasted so good.
Why being a judge on Top Chef Family Style was difficult
What was the toughest part about being a judge on "Top Chef Family Style," where you had to critique each team's dessert?
It was so delicious. I'd actually love to do that now because I'm so much more open with my taste buds. I was really picky about what I liked. Now, I'm super open and down to try anything, so I feel like I'd be different now [in terms of] how I reviewed things. That day was so fun. I got to be on set with Megan [Trainor], who I love, who's like an older sister to me. It was hard. Those kids are such good chefs. It's insane.
I'm sure it was so hard to give them a critique when they work so hard too.
Of course. And I've been in that position a lot with elimination shows, from almost every chair because I've done "Dancing with [the] Stars," I've done "Siwas Dance Pop Revolution," I've done "AUDC" ["Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition"], I've done "So You Think You Can Dance," where I've been on the judge's side. I've been a part of a lot of elimination shows, and it's hard. It's hard to give it your all, and then you have somebody who's opinionated and maybe they don't like it. But then you have somebody who's also opinionated and they love it. So it's really hard 'cause you want to please everybody. I try to give honest feedback but nice, respectful feedback.
Her favorite place for date night and go-to fast food order
I just saw that you celebrated two months with your girlfriend — congratulations!
Oh, don't give us that credit! It's one month. We're getting there. We're halfway — halfway to two months. It's so funny. I was booking this picnic, and it was this whole big thing, and I was so excited about it. Then I'm putting in the special notes. I'm like, "We're celebrating our one-month anniversary." I might as well just say 31 days. At least that sounds a little longer.
What would you say is your favorite restaurant to go to on a date?
Avery's favorite restaurant is Olive Garden, so I love to take her to Olive Garden any chance I can. We do really like to just stay home a lot because going out is a little complicated sometimes. There's a lot of people everywhere, and I've realized that the paparazzi's new favorite thing is to follow me when I feel like not getting ready. Then the days when I do get ready, they never follow me, which is wild.
I was leaving the house the other day, and my mom was [like], "Good luck with the paparazzi." I was like, "Well, I got ready today, so they're not going to be anywhere," And [sure] enough, they weren't. Then the next day, when I was awful and didn't get ready, they were right there waiting, and I was like, "Sick. Great. Love it." So we like to stay home a lot too. We like to order. She likes to make rainbow foods. We're really chill — anything goes.
Who's the one chef you'd want to cook you dinner?
Gordon Ramsay, because I feel like his drama sounds so fun to deal with for a day. I'm good with one day. Also, I found out that Lady Gaga's dad owns an Italian restaurant in New York and he can ... Yes. Also him.
What is your go-to fast food order and at which restaurant?
Oh my god. Stress. Okay. Easy. Taco Bell — chicken quesadilla, extra chicken, sometimes no jalapeno sauce, depending. That's my go-to. I can somehow count this as healthy.
To duet with Ocean Spray's #jigglewithus campaign, you can visit JoJo Siwa's TikTok.
This interview has been edited for clarity.