JoJo Siwa Reflects on Coming Out as Queer at 17

justjared.com:

JoJo Siwa is opening up about coming out as a teenager. The now 20-year-old Dance Moms alum just launched her podcast JoJo Siwa Now, which reflects on her past meeting her future.

During the conversation, she spoke about what it meant to come out of the closet at a young age, and how it “meant a lot” to be cast on Dancing with the Stars as part of the first-ever same-sex couple in 2021. Keep reading to find out more… “I came out when I was 17 but I didn’t understand at the time what a big deal that was.

I didn’t understand why that was scary,” she said. I remember I was on the phone with my girlfriend at the time and I was like, ‘I think I want to come out to the world,’ and she was like, ‘OK, do it.’” So then I posted this picture and threw it on my Instagram Story, and that’s how I confirmed it,” she went on to say.

Regardless of the response, JoJo “didn’t think twice about it.” “Of course there was a lot of positivity and love and acceptance but then there was a lot of negativity, and I did lose a lot,” she said of the experience. “I didn’t care, and I still don’t care [about] the things I lost and the people that I lost and if I lost a chunk of fans…because it’s who I am.” “I created my career off of being genuine and if you didn’t like me because on January whatever I was straight and January the next day I was gay, then you’re not meant to like me anyways.