JoJo Siwa Reflects on Coming Out Journey

JoJo Siwa, who gained fame as a star on Dance Moms and a pop sensation, shared her experience of coming out as a lesbian at the age of 17. She mentioned feeling pressured by the LGBTQIA+ community when identifying her sexuality.

In a recent interview, she recalled, “When I came out at 17, I said, ‘I’m pansexual.’ But then I felt like I was placing myself in a box, and I declared, ‘I’m a lesbian.’ I think the pressure influenced that decision.” She reflected on where she thought this pressure originated, suggesting it partly stemmed from a combination of her internal struggles and external influences within the LGBTQ community, including relationships she had at the time. Siwa noted, “You’re suddenly in this world where saying, ‘Oh, I’m a lesbian’ feels like a requirement. But honestly, sexuality is fluid.”

Her comments followed some social media exchanges with actor Mickey Rourke, who was also a contestant on a reality TV show. Their interactions led to some confusion among her followers regarding her evolving identity, particularly given her past as what she called the “gay pop CEO.”

Siwa also expressed disappointment with Nickelodeon’s handling of her coming out, stating that they seem to have “made a conscious choice to forget” about her identity. She feels that her shift towards LGBTQ content and activism, along with her pop music career, reflects a new direction she’s embraced, which diverges from the characters she portrayed before.

When asked about the perceptions of her as a “Queer Pop Queen,” she described those sentiments as “nonsense,” and remarked on how she felt she had been “pretending” for a year. Despite the challenges, Siwa affirmed that she wouldn’t change her journey, saying, “If I could go back in time, I wouldn’t change anything. Honestly, zero. I wouldn’t change a thing.”