The Wiggles: Purple Wiggle John Pearce discusses TikTok, sex symbol status

Former boy band member turned Purple Wiggle John Pearce has become an unexpected sex symbol. Here, he opens up to Stellar about how he’s handled his newfound heart-throb status.

If you saw John Pearce at the height of his pop music career in the mid-2010s, you may have caught him singing and dancing in streetwear. If your kids have asked you to turn on the television lately, you may have seen him in a trademark grape-coloured skivvy. But if you’ve scrolled your TikTok feed in the past few weeks, chances are you have clocked a guy in a muscle tee and thought, who is that? Now, Pearce – one-time boy-band member, current Purple Wiggle and undeniable social-media sensation – is adding “model” to his résumé in an exclusive shoot for Stellar.

John Pearce has been sharing the spotlight his entire life. He first became famous in 2010 when he and his twin brother Lenny won season four of Australia’s Got Talent as part of Justice Crew, a nine-member dance troupe.

Then, as a six-piece pop group, Justice Crew earnt eight ARIA Music Award nominations and two number-one singles with ‘Boom Boom’ in 2012 and ‘Que Sera’ in 2014.

John Pearce: ‘It’s the comparison of that side of my life with then putting that iconic skivvy on – that’s what resonated.’ Picture: Daniel Nadel for Stellar

Now, as a member of the global children’s music phenomenon The Wiggles, Pearce has seven skivvy-wearing performers by his side and dons the colour purple along with Lachlan “Lachy” Gillespie. He’s even earnt a nickname – “Big Strong John” – and demonstrates how he’s “lifting things all day long” on the ABC Kids series Wiggly Fruit Salad.

That’s why Pearce cringes a bit at the recent solo attention he’s received as “the hot Purple Wiggle”, and is treating the phenomenon a bit like – for lack of a better term – a hot potato.

“I’ve always been part of a group,” Pearce tells Stellar. “So even doing this interview by myself, I don’t love it.”

But in January, when he posted a Zoolander-inspired TikTok video of his everyday self running into his Purple Wiggle persona, the image of the 32-year-old in his singlet top and shorts attracted a decidedly non-preschool demographic.

“I suddenly forgot how to make fruit salad,” wrote one fan, while another added, “OK, my sons are 22, 26 & 28… do you think they want Wiggles concert tickets for Christmas?”

Although Pearce describes the sum of his online content as pretty wholesome and all the fuss over him as strange, he reminds fans that even Wiggles have a life outside of the Big Red Car.

John Pearce: ‘I try not to let any of the comments, positive and negative, affect what I’m here for.’ Picture: Daniel Nadel for Stellar

“We are human and, you know, before social media, it was harder to access that side of people,” Pearce explains.

“I’m into my fitness and my video editing, and that’s all [the videos] are. But it’s the comparison of that side of my life with then putting that iconic skivvy on – that’s what resonated.”

While the rest of the group hasn’t had any roundtable discussions about how to straddle the line between sex symbol and Wiggle, Pearce is aware of the boundaries.

“Taking your shirt off and being a kid’s entertainer is not in the same room,” he says. “I’m totally aware of all that. You know, we have to be super careful.”

As to whether the attention makes him feel objectified, he’s also staying out of that noise.

“People are entitled to their opinions and say what they like,” he reasons. “I try not to let any of the comments, positive and negative, affect what I’m here for – and that’s making music for children.”

Pearce’s eye-catching social media posts aside, The Wiggles continue to stay relevant in the pop-culture Zeitgeist.

At the start of 2022, they took out the number-one spot on Triple J’s Hottest 100 with their take on Tame Impala’s ‘Elephant’, and later that year, the original line-up of Anthony Field, Murray Cook, Jeff Fatt and Greg Page performed a string of gigs for an 18+ only crowd.

Pearce says the group’s strength and longevity lies in this ability to adapt, whether that be playing shows for over 18s or adding more members to reflect the diversity in the world around them.

John Pearce: ‘It’s those little moments that do remind you of the impact you are having on children and families around the world.’ Picture: Daniel Nadel for Stellar

During their 30th anniversary year in 2021, the band announced an expanded line-up – which included Filipino-Australian Pearce – to populate a YouTube series called Fruit Salad TV.

The timing was perfect for Pearce, who, while on a break from Justice Crew, was rejected from joining the fire service. Field, who lives in his neighbourhood, then asked him to join fellow new recruits Evie Ferris, Kelly Hamilton and Tsehay Hawkins (who eventually replaced Emma Watkins as the Yellow Wiggle).

“When I didn’t get into the fireys, [my wife] Jess kept saying, ‘I think there’s something bigger that’s supposed to happen.’ Then the universe kind of pulled me in this direction,” he says. “Everything happens for a reason, and I guess I get to dress up as a firefighter now.”

Doing the Wiggly fingers may be easy for Pearce, but he admits, “Children’s music is

so simple that it is difficult. I’m still learning today, but I’ve been surrounded by the pioneers of the genre.”

John Pearce features in this Sunday’s Stellar. Picture: Steven Chee for Stellar.

They are also one of the hardest-working bands in the industry, he’s discovered, as The Wiggles prepare for an Australian tour kicking off in March, the release of a documentary and a tour to the US and Canada later this year – as well as the ongoing recording of TV episodes.

Eighteen months into his tenure, he adds, he has relaxed into the role.

“I’ve had a few of the shows where some of the parents come up to me and say, ‘My son loves you and he thinks you guys look similar,’” he says.

“It’s those little moments that do remind you of the impact you are having on children and families around the world.”

“While we’re always looking at stepping it up and creating different content online, it’s always been about the children and that’s not going to change. But if parents are looking to get involved, we’re happy to include everybody.”