Another one bites the dust. Doja Cat is officially done with Instagram — for now. During the March 8, 2024, weekend, Complex shared that the “Streets” artist took to the platform to reveal that she would take some time to heal due to the toxic environment on the app.
“Hey, I’m gonna deactivate because I’m not really feeling this anymore,” the singer shared on Instagram. “You guys take care of yourselves.”
She continued: “I like coming here to find inspo and see people being creative, but I just feel like this is getting to be too much. The way I’m spoken to on here and treated makes me have f—-d up thoughts. Please watch how you talk about people on the internet. Bye.”
Her tumultuous relationship with social media has always plagued her.
Cat’s relationship with social media has always been conflicting. The star has faced criticism numerous times due to her online demeanor. In July 2023, fans of the rapper (known as the “Kittenz”) turned on her, resulting in her losing a massive amount of followers.
Per Complex, Cat lost an estimated 500,000 followers. However, the singer was unfazed, stating that she finally felt free.
“Seeing all these people unfollow me makes me feel like I’ve defeated a large beast that’s been holding me down for so long,” she said in her Instagram story via the outlet. “It feels like I can reconnect with the people who really matter and love me for who I am and not for who I was.”
Fans started to side-eye the “Say So” singer due to her alleged relationship with Twitch streamer J. Cyrus. Cyrus was accused of emotional abuse from his followers, according to Rolling Stone.
The singer dismissed fans’ concerns regarding her love life, writing in an Instagram comment on July 20, 2023, “I don’t give a f–k what you think about my personal life. I have never and I will never give a f–k about me or my personal life. Goodbye and good riddance. Miserable h—s haha.”
Cat has repeatedly lashed out at her fans and their need to weigh in on all of her personal decisions. She’s made it clear to set strict boundaries with her fans and has seemed to tap into somewhat of a villain in this era that she is in. When one of her “Kittenz” asked the artist to say that she loves them, she did the opposite.
Her new era has come with intense criticism.
With the September 2023 release of her fourth studio album, “Scarlet,” Cat ventured far from the pop-driven sound of her predecessor “Planet Her.” Her fourth studio album was more masculine, focusing heavily on rap. With a new sound came a new look, and most of Cat’s visuals took on a darker aesthetic. The rapper initially adopted an occult-like persona, which received criticism from her fans, who referred to it as “satanic” and “demonic.”
Per the Rap-Up, fans addressed Cat’s behavior after she deactivated her Instagram.
“She cusses her fans out on every Live but is mad about how her fans talk to her? Laughing my a-s off,” one user said.
“Doing all that devil s–t, what do you expect?” another person chimed in.
We’ve seen this before: celebrities taking a break from social media. Sometimes, it sticks, and sometimes, it doesn’t. We’ll see how long Doja Cat’s break from Instagram lasts and how she chooses to return.
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