The singer dropped new cover art for her single, "Masc," on Instagram Friday, which featured a close-pic shot of her tight, blonde curls. But it didn't take long for the comments section to take a negative turn ... resulting in DC disabling the comments on the upload.

Doja also hopped on IG Live to address the harsh criticism. A clearly irritated Doja asked her followers to stop comparing the hairstyle to "sheep and pubes and carpet and popcorn."

She adds ... "We got to move forward. Let’s move forward. Let’s grow ... I can’t tell you what to do. I’m not your f***ing parents. I don’t want to say too much."

It goes without saying … some suggested the mean remarks were racist in nature — and yeah, it certainly feels that way.

Anyway, this isn't the first time Doja has clashed with her followers online. There’ve been several instances of her clashing with her fan base … but in this instance, it seems people are coming to her defense.