In the glamour and glitz world, Jonas Brothers - Nick, Joe and Kevin have turned out to be very popular since their Disney days. Soon they became a brand with plenty of hit songs under their belt. However, their popularity did affect their fourth brother Frankie Jonas. In a recent interview, Frankie revealed that it was not easy for him to grow up under the spotlight of the Jonas Brothers and the struggle with his demeaning new nickname when he was called ‘Bonus Jonas’ during his growing up days. It hurt him so much that his brother Joe Jonas realised that later and refused to call him that after he mentioned that it used to hurt him.
As a pre-teen, he felt he is valuable only as an extension of the existing brand. “I always hated that nickname,” he says to Bustle. “A lot of my problem with being in the public eye was that I was seen as this commodified vision of myself.” To which, Joe added, “I refused to call Frankie ‘Bonus Jonas’ after he opened up to me about how that was hurtful to him. It completely makes sense, and we’ve had lengthy conversations and apologies behind closed doors that showcased my understanding and respect for his wishes. I think to feel like you are second, third, or fourth-best from something is unfair; we are all equals.”
The TikTok star also mentioned that when he turned 12, he downloaded Twitter and searched for his own name, and was ‘pretty awful things for a 12-year-old to read.’ He was body shamed and was the butt of cruel jokes, “A lot of it was like, ‘If you ever feel forgotten, remember this guy.’ Or, ‘Frankie Jonas is a talentless sack of sh*t.’ It became a form of self-harm to look at these things,” Jonas says. It became a serious issue for Frankie who thought that he was just this meme.
Image source: Instagram/ frankiebonusjonas/ joejonas