JoJo Siwa says she felt 'forced' to come out as a lesbian
In a new interview with the Daily Mail, JoJo Siwa discussed her new relationship with her Celebrity Big Brother co-star, Chris Hughes, and the world's reaction to her dating a man after coming out as a lesbian.
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Siwa told another contestant on Celebrity Big Brother UK that she felt "queer" was a better fitting label than lesbian as her and Hughes grew closer. Looking back, she clarified how she currently identifies.
"When I came out at 17, I said, 'I'm pansexual, because I don't care [about gender].' But then I kind of boxed myself in and I said, 'I'm a lesbian.' And I think I did that because of the pressure." When the interviewer asked her where that pressure came from, she said, "In a weird way, I think it came a little bit from inside the [LGBTQ] community at times. From people I know, from partners I've had. You just get put in this world where you feel like, because you now have said, 'Oh, I'm a lesbian,' you have to be a lesbian. And the truth is, sexuality is fluid."
Siwa and Hughes' relationship grew out of an interaction they had on Celebrity Big Brother after Hughes defended her against a homophobic interaction from actor Mickey Rourke. After that, their bond grew closer and blossomed into an on-screen romance that garnered thousands of comments on their relationship for days. Now, the two share photos of themselves cuddling together on vacation and declaring their love for one another.
Some find her relationship hard to believe due to her over-the-top antics and her most recent attempt to shed the "child star" label. After coming out in 2021, she said she felt that her former television network, Nickelodeon, "made the conscious choice to forget about [her]," and she redirected her focus to making music.
In 2024, Siwa released her song, "Karma," and called herself the "CEO of gay pop." She said during the interview that this era of her life was all "nonsense." Siwa admitted that she "faked being naughty for a year" and "faked that I was screwing people left and right," saying she "wanted attention."
After reflecting on the most pivotal moments of her career and what she's had to deal with, Siwa tells the Daily Mail that she would do everything the same way again if given the chance. "I've already thought about it, and I'm beyond happy with it all. If I could go back in time, I wouldn't change a thing. Really. Zero. I would change nothing," she said.
This article originally appeared on Out: JoJo Siwa says she felt 'forced' to come out as a lesbian
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