It’s been a few weeks since JoJo Siwa unexpectedly went from teen icon to queer teen icon. And now that the dust has settled, Siwa is ready to share the lead up to her decision to come out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
In an interview with Jimmy Fallon, the 17-year-old singer and dancer said that she hadn’t planned a big, orchestrated coming out — it kind of happened on a whim. She had planned a collaboration video with a collective of LGBTQ+ TikTokers called Pride House, but came to realize that it would likely “out” her.
“I don’t really mind because it is true, I do have the most amazing, wonderful, perfect, most beautiful girlfriend in the whole world,” Siwa said, “it’s not something I’m ashamed of. I just haven’t shown the internet yet.”
After the video dropped, speculation about Siwa’s sexuality began, and her unnamed girlfriend encouraged her to end any confusion and officially come out. That came first in the form of a tweet: “My cousin got me a new shirt,” she captioned a selfie wearing a “Best. Gay. Cousin. Ever.” T-shirt. Soon after, she posted an Instagram video in which she shared her excitement and thanks for her fans’ support.
My cousin got me a new shirt pic.twitter.com/DuHhgRto7b
— JoJo Siwa (@itsjojosiwa) January 22, 2021
As one of the youngest and most high-profile stars to publicly come out as LGBTQ+, many feel that she will help inspire many young queer people. “My thing with coming out is that it can be a very scary thing,” Siwa told Fallon. “Of course not everyone in the world is going to accept it right now but there are so many in the world that are going to accept it right now. […] I don’t want it to be such a big thing — am I going to have a coming out party? No! It’s just who I am.” A giant outpour of support from celebrities and fans followed the post — and yes, perhaps a few haters were peppered in there, but Siwa swiftly brushed them off.
“If I lost everything I have created because of being myself and because of loving who I want to love then I don’t want it,” she said.
This wasn’t the only big news Siwa had to share. She also revealed that she’s currently in Canada working on a musical about her life with Nickelodeon called The J Team.
