Hello world, and welcome back to another gloomy day here on my blog. Today, I have a guest post from my friend Sammy, who curates the beautiful blog BadGirlSadGirlSquad and runs one of the most dedicated Jennifer Juan update accounts on Instagram LoveIsAnExorcism. She reached out after reading my earlier post about the Jennifer Juan and Jennifer Chira podcast drama and wanted to give her perspective, so I gladly offered her a guest spot here on my blog, so without further ado, here are Sammy's thoughts on the matter!
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Hi everyone, I'm Sammy, and I would like to start by thanking April for giving me space to talk about how I'm feeling about this situation. A little introduction, I've been a fan of Jennifer Juan since 2016 after I found her work on Tumblr. Back then, the fandom was very small, and I don't think any of us could have imagined the heights Jennifer would reach in the future. We were just happy to enjoy the mini collections on her website and interacting with her on social media, so the idea of her one day having bestselling books, albums and a podcast were awesome but so far away. As a fan, I am very proud of what Jennifer has achieved, and that's why it hurts to see somebody try to take away her hard work.
I've tried not to let this bother me. I know how talented Jennifer is because she has shown us time and time again, but that doesn't stop me worrying about what this recent situation could mean for her and for our fandom.
Sincerely, Jennifer x started in 2017. When Jennifer announced that she was starting a podcast, I was a little nervous about what it would be like. I was sure she would create something amazing, and I was happy that we were getting something new from her, but I didn't really listen to podcasts or know what they were about, so I didn't know what to expect. On the first listen, all my fears dropped straight away. I absolutely loved it! It was a great way to get a new look at her poetry, and a great way to get to know Jennifer a bit more as a person. I subscribed instantly and listened to every new episode, and as the show went on, so did Jennifer's career, she started touring, releasing books, we got new music, and everything was awesome.
I know that I should be happy, as a Jennifer fan, because she is good to her fans. We get several new pieces of content a week, she's still interactive on social media, even as her fandom grows bigger and bigger, and she is still the beautiful soul we have grown to love, but I am scared. I am scared because someone looked at her hard work and thought they could steal it. Someone looked at what she has built for herself and what she has given to us, and decided that they could take it from her, and take it from us, to fastrack her way to a career.
Jennifer Chira making the choice to not only copy Jennifer Juan, but to do so in such an obvious way is such a disrespectful and hurtful act. She has taken every aspect of Sincerely, Jennifer x and pasted them onto Sincerely, Jen, but it doesn't stop there. If you look at her social media, and compare it with Jennifer Juan's, it becomes clear that not only is she trying to copy her podcast, but also her aesthetic. She types in a similar way, with her captions being pretty obvious attempts to mimic Jennifer Juan's poetry, her instagram has obvious Jennifer Juan influences like soft colour schemes, nostalgic and vintage themes, aquatic and floral imagery. If she took just one of those things, it could be a coincidence, but there are multiple examples of her clearly copying Jennifer Juan, almost like she was trying to steal her identity or her success.
When you watch a creator grow, and you support them for so long, you feel defensive over them, and I know that it might not make sense to some people, but this is just how I feel. Jennifer Chira has not even been subtle about her blatant stealing of Jennifer Juan's hard work, and she deserves to be called out for it. If she wanted to be successful too, she should have made her own way, and put in the work to gain her own audience and find her own identity, but now, I don't know if anybody could look at anything she does and see any original work, even if she rebrands and tries to do things the old fashioned way. She's already tainted as a fraud, and maybe that's what she deserves.
Jennifer Juan hasn't spoken about this, even when people have asked, and I don't think that she will, but sometimes, I wish she would defend herself. I know, deep down, that she will rise above it, and continue to come out on top, but if she knows what is going on here, I think she will be hurting, and part of me wishes she would open up about how she feels, or see how the fandom is trying to raise awareness and protect her, so that she'd know she isn't alone. I can only hope that even if she stays quiet, she will see our support and know that she is loved.
