Did JoJo Siwa steal “Karma” from a smaller artist?

Karma may be coming back around to JoJo Siwa sooner than anyone thought thanks to a new discovery by TikTokers. While Siwa keeps claiming that her disastrous new single “Karma” is a Siwa original—while pissing off fans of Hayley Kiyoko, Kehlani, Troye Sivan and others by claiming to invent the “gay pop” genre—some revelations are coming to light about the song’s true origins.

Penned by singer/songwriter Brit Smith in the early 2010s, “Karma” seems to have been a Miley Cyrus castoff.

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But Smith herself also recorded the track, with a video to go along with it.

Original version of Karma (Jojo Siwa) was posted today. Recorded by Brit Smith and produced by Timbaland. Who knew?!
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The best part of all is that people are actually loving the original. “I knew this song was made in a different era, 2012, being that era,” commented one Redditor. “Jojo calling it original is an insult to Brit, and effed around is worse than messed around.”

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Obviously there’s nothing unusual about singing a song written by another artist—that’s primarily how pop stars get their material. But Smith worked with famed producer Timbaland and Cyrus on the track way back in 2012, and all this is a matter of public record. So why would Siwa claim that “Karma” was original material?

The news that this was a Miley cast-off makes sense in light of Siwa’s comments about modeling her own pivot into adult pop on Cyrus’s 2013 Bangerz era.

And if you’re feeling like it’s a little bit sus that Smith’s video just surfaced today after over 10 years, relax. Smith’s version has been on Vimeo all this time.