Music legend Joni Mitchell is often associated with pioneering a new generation of music combining poetic, folk, and rock genres, and praised by millions for her soulful lyrics and flowery melodies. However, even acclaimed artists have a few skeletons in their closets—or in Mitchell’s case, controversial personas ready to get canceled by a new generation of internet deep divers.
@ivy2pam a little yikes #jonimitchell #alterego #awkward #cover #fyp #fypシ゚ ♬ Amanda Seyfried Covers California by Joni Mitchell – FallonTonight
Gen Z TikTokers are using the social media platform to cancel the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. On March 8, 2025, TikTok user @ivy2pam uploaded a simple video of themselves lip-synching to a trending audio file entitled, “Amanda Seyfried Covers California by Joni Mitchell.”
The video’s text overlay reads, “Me when I’m singing this and my brother has to tell me Joni Mitchell had a Black alter ego named Art Nouveau and she got so much backlash that she had to retire her alter ego.”
“A little yikes,” the TikToker posted in the caption of the video, which is viral with over 1.5M views, 182.6K likes, 5,115 saves, 2,162 shares, and 918 comments.
“Not only that but she defends the choice to do Art Nouveau at every chance,” wrote TikTok user @devismommy in the comments. “She’s always like ‘NAH IM A BLACK MAN, ITS FINE’.”
“It’s amanda seyfried’s song now idc, added TikTok user @ithballea.
Soon TikTok was flooded with Gen Zers calling out the artist’s divisive past.
“’I really feel an affinity because I have experienced being a black guy on several occasions.’ joni what,” wrote TikTok user @st4rgazing in the caption of a video, which shows themselves eating from a bowl while lip synching to the original song.
Text overlay in the video reads, “Fighting the urge to remind everyone of Joni Mitchell’s Black alter ego “Art Nouveau” and her affinity for doing blackface and how she defends it to this day and.” The video has 2M views, 175K likes, and over 2,935 comments.
“I cannot believe this is the song of a woman who was super into blackface,” wrote TikTok user @whiterabbitbbby in the text overlay of a video where they also lip-synch to Seyfried’s cover.
“Girl really felt she was relatable to ‘a black man’,” wrote TikTok user @tobelovedistobeseen23 in the comments. “Like WHATTT and preformed in blackface too.”
Why is Joni Mitchell getting canceled by Gen Z?
The callout comes after actress Amanda Seyfried appeared on an episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, which aired on March 4, 2025. Seyfried showcased her musical talent by playing a unique instrument called the dulcimer (sort of like a flat guitar, played horizontally), singing Joni Mitchell’s “California” for the audience.
Mitchell’s music has been tough to discover organically; she only re-released her repertoire on Spotify as of March 2024. Fans of Seyfried were so charmed by her performance that they began resharing the musical cover on social media, most notably on TikTok, where it soon became a trending audio clip.
As Gen Z TikTokers dove into the famous songwriter’s past, they discovered a controversial period in Mitchell’s career: Art Nouveau, an alter-ego she developed that intended to raise awareness for racial injustices. Unfortunately, it backfired as a display of blatant blackface.
According to an article from The Telegraph, Mitchell developed Art Nouveau in 1976 “when she first dressed up as a male black pimp” in which she wore “an afro wig and a wide moustache” and covered her face in brown body paint.
“Mitchell’s reasons for becoming a street-smart male black sex hustler in a sharp suit and gold jewellery were multifarious,” the article adds. “She was a privileged white person perpetuating a damaging black stereotype.”
Despite Mitchell appearing this way for several years, the message she tried to perpetuate was never received the way she intended.
Gen Z is torn on their Joni Mitchell music discovery
Younger generations are increasingly using TikTok as a major source for discovering old music, and using it in new ways. So it’s no surprise that the TikTok girlies would be enchanted by the soft, lyrical voice of Mitchell’s way-back-when folk tunes—the perfect soundtrack to the lifestyle content they are creating.
Videos of TikTokers trying to cover Seyfried’s cover of Mitchell’s song flooded TikTok after the episode aired, with some using dulcimers and others turning their guitars horizontal to try and achieve the effect.
Access to information is also easier than ever, which makes it much faster to dive deep into an artist’s past and uncover elements of their life that don’t match up with current Gen Z values.
“In the wake of Amanda Seyfried’s performance, TikTok commenters have in the space of a week discovered Joni Mitchell, then discovered a certain unfortunate photo shoot, and begun vigorously canceling her,” wrote X user @hiattb.
X user @dunceteria also commented on the cycle of TikTok discovery and dismay in their post: “(in a nursing home in 60 years) nurse…. tiktok discovered joni mitchell art nouveau again.”
One TikTok user came to Mitchell’s defense after watching @st4rgazing’s video. “Ugh as a black Joni Mitchell fan, I wish people realised that she was dating a black man at the time and this was her way of trying to bridge the racial gap and divide,” posted @Immediatelyno in the comments.
They went on to make their own post on the subject, with a slideshow of information related to Mitchell’s Art Nouveau period and their reasons behind why Mitchell’s blackface was more nuanced than people on TikTok are making it out to be.
“I believe there’s room for understanding in discussions about race, culture, and history,” the posted in the caption of the slideshow. “I’m not defending blackface, but I do believe we need to acknowledge intent, context, and growth,”
“Joni Mitchell apologized for her actions and has spoken about her intentions this is not about excusing harm, but about recognising that people can learn from their mistakes,” they continued. “Constantly holding onto victimhood and anger, especially when someone has shown remorse, doesn’t move the conversation forward. I’m here for dialogue, not for endless cycles of condemnation. Let’s engage with nuance, not with blanket outrage.”
Others are just not into the hype of Gen Z trying to recreate the classic hit at all, however. TikTok user @eboon_l addressed the trend in a video with over 124.7K views.
“Yes, Amanda Seyfried sounded really good on Jimmy Fallon singing that Joni Mitchell song,” they start. “But that doesn’t mean that y’all need to turn your guitars sideways and try to do the same,
“You don’t sound like her, and that’s okay,” they continue. “You also don’t have that whatever freaky instrument she was playing. And your guitar horizontal is not doing it for me.”
“No more California by Joni Mitchell,” is written as text overlay on the video, while “It’s ENOUGH” was posted in the video’s caption.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @ivy2pam, @st4rgazing, @Immediatelyno, via TikTok DM for comment.
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