While speaking with Yahoo last month, JoJo Siwa admitted that she doesn’t like the word “lesbian.” She said at the time, “I don’t like the word itself,” the singer said in her video interview. “It’s just like lesbian, it’s just like a lot.” The actress has been receiving backlash over her comment but now she’s speaking out to clarify her remarks.
One user responded to her interview and said, “um in light of a recent Jojo Siwa interview, here’s a quick reminder that lesbian isn’t a bad or dirty word.” Another added, “lesbian is not a dirty word and the stigma needs to be unlearned BADLY.” The former “Dance Moms” star recently took to TikTok to clarify that she doesn’t think it’s a bad word, it’s just not one she prefers to use often:
“I never said that lesbian was a dirty word and I never would say that it’s a dirty word because it is not,” she explained. “It is not a bad word, it is not a slur, and it is especially not a word that I am ashamed of saying or ashamed of identifying as by any means.”
When Did Jojo Siwa Come Out?
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Last year, she confirmed her sexuality and came out as gay on Instagram live. Months after her revelation, she opened up about how she labels her sexuality. She said:
“I still don’t know what I am. It’s like, I want to figure it out,” Jojo who was 17-year-old at the time told People about her inner journey. “Technically I would say that I am pansexual, because that’s how I have always been my whole life is just like, my human is my human,” she said.
What is Pansexual?
According to Merriam-Webster, pansexual means “of, relating to or characterized by sexual or romantic attraction that is not limited to people of a particular gender identity or sexual orientation.”
During her interview with the outlet, she went on to say, “I never wanted [my coming out] to be a big deal,” Siwa said, adding that she did Google herself after doing so and found negative comments that made it so she “couldn’t sleep for three days.” “My thing is,” Siwa continued, “I don’t want people to watch my videos or buy my merchandise if they aren’t going to support not only me, but the LGBTQ community.”
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Aside from that, she was ultimately happy with all the supportive comments she did receive:
She previously said that she has “never gotten this much support from the world” and it’s “the first time that I’ve felt so personally happy.
“I am so proud to be me,” Siwa added.
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