The 'Lose Yo Job' Woman, Johnniqua Charles, Has Created a BLM Anthem

Lizzy Rosenberg - Author
By

PUBLISHED Jun. 9 2020, 1:34 p.m. ET

UPDATED Jun. 9 2020, 1:34 p.m. ET

While the Black Lives Matter movement predominantly aims to instill racial equality in the workplace, on the streets, and within society as a whole, it largely focuses on the issue of police brutality, which has unfortunately plagued the Black community for centuries. And the "lose yo job" woman, whose real name is Johnniqua Charles, inadvertently created a viral song for the movement.

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What did the "lose yo job" woman do to gain fame? Stay tuned for everything you need to know regarding the Black Lives Matter icon, who gained tremendous recognition for creating a legendary Black Lives Matter bop.

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Who is the "lose yo job" woman? Meet Johnniqua Charles.

27-year-old Johnniqua Charles is the iconic "lose yo job" woman, who started singing and dancing when she was being detained by a security guard who failed to explain why he was handcuffing her. Johnniqua, who hails from Dillon, SC, had apparently spent the evening at Diamonds Gentlemen's Club on Feb. 5, according to BuzzFeed, and she reportedly tried to get back in after it closed, because she left her purse inside.

The cop's body camera reportedly wasn't working, so her friend — who had been DJing at the club — started filming the scene. 

“I guess he thought I was going back in just to go back inside the club, but he wouldn’t allow me, and that’s how the argument between me and him started... I told him to suck my dick, and that is the moment he basically put the handcuffs on me and tussled with me a little bit.”

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“He didn’t have a reason. He didn’t have anything to charge me with,” she said. “Because what would be the charge?” Johnniqua said in an interview. Needless to say, the cop didn't fight her catchy song and killer dance moves, but he called the sheriff's deputies over, who told her she could go without charge. Check out the original video — and an incredible remix that has since surfaced — below.

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Johnniqua's newfound social media fame has completely changed her life.

Until recently, Johnniqua had been suffering from drug addiction, and had been homeless. To survive, she also engaged in sex work, according to Insider, and she hadn't spoken to her family and 3-year-old son for several months. But when the "lose yo job" video went viral, a former classmate sent it to Johnniqua via Facebook, shortly before her sister, Andrea, reached out asking her to come home.

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Andrea had always wanted the best for Johnniqua, but the sisters had unfortunately lost touch. However, Andrea wanted to ensure that Johnniqua would get the recognition she deserves, so she set up an Instagram account for her, created a line of T-shirts, and even set up a GoFundMe that has raised more than $30,000 for Jonniqua and her son, including to ensure Johnniqua stays "on the right track." Needless to say, this is certainly the step forward she needed.

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The "lose yo job" video came as a blessing to Johnniqua and the BIPOC community.

Although Johnniqua's viral video was certainly life-changing, it also changed the lives of people in the Black community. 

“Once I made her Instagram, people were flooding in, saying, ‘How can I bless her? She just blessed my day so much. She just made my day.’ So the only reason it was created was so people could bless her life," Johnniqua's sister, Andrea, told BuzzFeed.

“Other people keep telling me I helped them so much, but they don’t understand — nobody understands — how much this video going viral like this is helping me, because it’s giving me the breakthrough I so badly needed for so long,” Johnniqua said.

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Johnniqua is a total inspiration, and her fame is well-deserved. Needless to say, we'll continue to lookout for more bangers from her in the music scene.

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