Singer JoJo hasn’t been afraid to call out her former record label for sabotaging her career when she was younger, but now she’s even revealing the affect it had on her health and body. “I was under a lot of pressure with a company I was at previously and they wanted me to lose weight fast,” JoJo, now 25, told Popsugar. “So they got me with a nutritionist and had me … on all these supplements, and I was injecting myself — this is a common thing ‘the girls’ do by the way — it makes your body only need certain calories, so I ate 500 calories a day. It was the most unhealthy thing I’ve ever done.”
While JoJo didn’t elaborate on what exactly the injections were, she did admit that the whole ordeal ended up messing with her psychologically. She was only about 17 or 18 when this all happened, after all! JoJo also revealed that she ended up feeling terrible about herself and gaining all the weight back — but that wasn’t even the worst part.
“I felt like, ‘If I don’t do this, my album won’t come out,'” she continued. “Which it didn’t! So it’s not like it even worked!”
After dealing with the pressures of her label (and the halt they put on her record production), JoJo has spent nearly the last decade focusing on what she wants and making new music. Now under a new label, the “Leave (Get Out)” singer will be releasing her first album since 2006, titled Mad Love, on October 14. Before fans get to hear her new material, JoJo wants to send a message to fans: Listen, don’t follow.
“I listen to other people’s opinions. Listening and following are different things. I think listening and showing respect to people you respect . . . it works for me,” she said. “What you think about yourself and the decisions you make is what’s most important.”
HollywoodLifers, did you ever think JoJo looked unhealthy? Are you excited about her new music? Tell us in the comments below!