Doja Cat Responds to Over 180,000 Fans Who Unfollowed Her: 'I've Defeated a Large Beast'

etonline.com:

Doja Cat is speaking out. A month after the 27-year-old rapper reportedly lost more than 180,000 Instagram followers for speaking negatively about her fans, she addressed the situation.«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 and 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,» she wrote on her Instagram Story. «I feel free.»The same day Doja Cat released her statement, the singer was announced as one of three cover stars for 's September '23 ICONS issue.

In the accompanying interview, which was conducted prior to all of the unfollowing drama, Doja Cat praises her fans.«I appreciate when people speak up for someone who is getting bullied or attacked by internet trolls. … Some of the most moving moments for me have been when my fans have stood up for me or for other people,» she says. «That's fighting for something real.

I really appreciate that because people like to s**t-talk.»She also addresses why her personal choices — shaving her head or eyebrows, for instance — become such a big deal online.«My theory is that if someone has never met me in real life, then, subconsciously, I'm not real to them.

So when people become engaged with someone they don't even know on the internet, they kind of take ownership over that person.