JoJo Siwa Says Social Media Gave Her a “Safe Space” to Come Out
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
In October 2022, JoJo Siwa took to the internet to share details of her coming out journey and when she knew that she was gay.
Siwanatorz will remember that former Dance Moms star came out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community back in January 2021, over a series of posts on TikTok and Instagram. In an April 2021 interview with People, JoJo later said, “I still don’t know what I am. It’s like, I want to figure it out. I don’t know, bisexual, pansexual, queer, lesbian, gay.” Siwa went on to explain that she personally uses the terms gay, pansexual, and queer to describe her identity. Now, JoJo is opening up about how she came to terms with her sexuality, and how Demi Lovato and Jenna Dewan played a role in her story.
In a TikTok video posted on October 4, 2022, JoJo told her story to the backing track of Nicki Minaj’s hit song “Super Freaky Girl” à la the viral clock app trend: “When I was 12, Demi Lovato came out with the song ‘Cool for the Summer.’ I really, really liked it and I listened to it all the time. I didn’t know what it meant back then but now that I’m much older and I understand it. Then a few years later, Jenna Dewan went on Lip Sync Battle. She did a really great Magic Mike number. I watched it every day.”
JoJo then revealed the pivotal moment in her gay awakening, saying, “Little me, she didn’t know she was gay until, a couple years later, a man was my first date and he wanted to have sex with me and I did not want to, never wanted to, grossed out by the thought of it, immediately knew men are not my thing, women are my gig, gotta go.”
Since coming out, JoJo has been open about her sexuality on social media, calling it her “safe space” in a June 2023 interview with E! News. “Just getting social media for me, it actually gave me a safe space when I came out,” she shared.“[I] knew that even if everyone around me didn’t support me that there was gonna be people online that did.”
“And I knew that I was gonna find those people and I was really excited about that,” JoJo added. “I always told myself it was gonna be easier to come out online than it was in person. And I do believe that’s very true.”
The America’s Got Talent judge has previously publicly dated one man — TikToker Mark Bontempo. The pair announced that they were dating in August 2020 before breaking things off in November of the same year, with JoJo saying that they were “still friends.” In January 2021, JoJo hard-launched her relationship with Kylie Prew but the pair called it quits nine months later. They briefly rekindled their romance that following summer before splitting for a second time. JoJo then went on to date Avery Cyrus for three months, but their break-up was announced in December 2022.
You Might Also Like
