Doja Cat reacts to fan she claims ‘manhandled’ her: ‘Don’t touch me’

Doja Cat has had it with “crazy” fan encounters.

The American singer, songwriter, and rapper, 29, is drawing a divided reaction online for sharing, and then deleting, a pair of posts to her X account on Friday.

“Bottom line is i’ll smile at you but it doesn’t mean I f— w you and don’t touch me and man handle me when you don’t even f—in know me. iykyk,” she wrote in the now-deleted posts, captured and shared by user @NATERERUN, referring to a TikTok posted by user Pablo Tamayo on June 6.

In Tamayo’s video, the TikToker is shown standing by Doja’s side and wearing a tank top that bears the phrase “HOT BOYS KISS BOYS.”

“I’m about to give my shirt to Doja Cat because she’s the iconic girl,” he says, before pulling off the shirt and handing it to the musician. They exchange names while smiling, and hug. “Nice to meet you my love,” Doja says. Tamayo responds, “I hope you have the best night.” He then grabs her arms and leads her in an excited jump and shout that ends in another hug.

“I honestly think I need to stand up for myself in the moment sometimes. and he didn’t even know my f—in name to be touching me and kissing me on my face like that is crazy,” Doja wrote on X, following up by posting, “I threw that musty ass shirt away btw.”

After a wave of criticism, Doja deleted both X posts, but then replied to a comment on the first from user @JohnellRoom calling her response to Tamayo’s video “weird af,” and arguing that because the musician “kissed back and then blew a kiss at the end,” Doja’s negative response was uncalled for. The musician replied, “LMAO wait ur right nvm thanks for educating me on how I feel.”

A rep for Doja Cat did not immediately respond to Entertainment Weekly’s request for comment.

The saga didn’t end there. On Saturday, Tamayo shared his candid reaction to first reading Doja’s now deleted X posts.

“I just wanna clear this up because it hurts,” he shared at the outset of the front-facing video. “I love her… I just think it’s crazy because she’s the one at this event that’s being so nice. She pointed out my shirt and said, ‘I like that.'”

Tamayo claimed that it was Doja who asked for a shirt once he revealed it was a part of his new “pride collection,” but “now, she’s on Twitter saying she ‘threw that musty shirt away,’ that I didn’t know her name, that I manhandled her. I understand, guys, if I was being too nice or whatever. I will take full accountability. I’m gay! I would never want to make her feel uncomfortable, she’s so iconic, I’ve only been saying the nicest things about her.”

The TikToker speculated that Doja may have shared her reaction “for publicity,” reiterating that he “would have never wanted to make her uncomfortable,” and would not have filmed the video “if she hadn’t said yes… I apologize if i did anything wrong at all, but guys, I’m a human being too, but maybe this just shows that not everybody’s who they say they are in person.”

Born Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini, Doja Cat became a viral star in 2018 with her parodic single “Mooo!” which she’s since spun into a genre-spanning, award-winning music career that has also seen its share of controversy.

The musician has been open about being “addicted to the internet,” as she put it in a 2023 Hot Ones interview. The edgy persona she sometimes adopts has manifested in controversial ways, as in her defense of using homophobic slurs and collaboration with controversial figures like Chris Brown and Dr. Luke.

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But she’s also become notable for drawing firmer boundaries with fans than other public figures might, and even speaking directly to her fanbase in a hostile manner. In July 2023, she told fans who dubbed her fanbase “Kittenz” to “get a job,” and the next month celebrated losing 500,000 Instagram followers over her alleged relationship with controversial streamer J Cyrus.

“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 wrote on in an Aug. 2023 Instagram story. “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.”