Dancer and YouTube star JoJo Siwa now identifies as a member of the LGBTQ community while not knowing exactly which category she would classify herself in.
In a TikTok video posted over the weekend, the former “Dance Moms” star came out by lip-syncing along to Lady Gaga’s “Born this Way,” which she followed up by posting a photo of herself wearing a T-shirt that read: “Best. Gay. Cousin. Ever.”
My cousin got me a new shirt pic.twitter.com/DuHhgRto7b
— JoJo Siwa (@itsjojosiwa) January 22, 2021
Later, during an Instagram Live video on Saturday, Siwa said that she does not identify as straight, stopping short of putting any sexual identity label on herself.
“I always believed that my person was just going to be my person,” she said. “And if that person happened to be a boy, great, and if that person happened to be a girl, great!”
Since Siwa has never fallen in love with someone, she avoided a specific label. She also thanked people for the love and support they have shown.
“I think humans are awesome, I think humans are really incredible people. Right now, I’m super duper happy and I want to share everything with the world but I also want to keep things in my life private until they are ready to be public. Right now what matters is that you guys know that no matter who you love, that it’s OK. It’s awesome and the world is there for you,” she said. “There are so many people that are there for you. I know everyone’s situation is different and it might be harder for some people and it might be easier for some people to come out or be themselves but I think coming out has this stigma around it — that it’s this really, really, really scary thing, but it’s not anymore. There are so many accepting and loving people out there that it’s OK.”
As to the people that would criticize her coming out, Siwa said that’s not something to “ever be afraid of.”
“Of course people are going to say it’s not normal, but nothing is normal. Literally not one thing about anybody is normal and it’s OK not to be normal, it’s OK to be a little different, it’s OK to be a little weird, strange, different. That’s something we should never, ever be afraid of. That’s something we should be proud of,” she said.
Her family reportedly welcomed the news, with her mom allegedly saying she has been aware of her daughter’s sexual identity for at least two years.
“My parents have known. My mom said she’s known for the last two years. She’s like, ‘I just know with you!’ Around two years ago, she was like, ‘I don’t think you only like boys, that’s totally okay.’ They’ve always been so everything … My family is awesome,” she said.
JoJo Siwa’s coming out as LGBTQ follows former “Juno” star Ellen Page (now Elliot) coming out as transgender.
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