When JoJo Siwa appeared on Celebrity Big Brother UK, she never thought describing herself as queer would set the internet on fire.
“That was one of those conversations actually that I was having that I was like, ‘This will never see the light of day,’” Siwa, 21, exclusively shared with Us Weekly for a digital cover story. “I don’t mind that it did, because I actually think it starts a very beautiful conversation of queer. I think queer joy is so special and so magical.”
While participating in season 24 of Celebrity Big Brother UK last month, Siwa was filmed as she opened up about her identity.
“I’ve always told myself I’m a lesbian, but I think being here, I’ve realized, ‘Oh no, I’m not a lesbian, I’m queer,’” she said at the time. “I think that’s really cool. I’m switching letters.”
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Although Siwa loves that the LGBTQIA+ community is “so inclusive and accepting,” she also sees some followers trying to turn the clip into something negative.
“Sexuality is a spectrum and sexuality is so, so fluid,” she explained to Us. “People saying that my sexuality has been fake is actually crazy and a discredit to my life that I’ve had since I fell in love with my first girl.”
While appearing on Celebrity Big Brother UK, Siwa had the opportunity to have deep conversations with fellow houseguest Danny Beard. The candid chats reminded the former Dance Moms star that she doesn’t “want to be in a box anymore.”
“Queer is a beautiful umbrella term for the LGBTQIA community,” Siwa explained. “I think that for me to be a woman and say I have a non-binary partner, but then also say I’m a lesbian is crazy. I just realized within myself that the way my eyes are to the world, I think I’m just queer. It has nothing to do with anything besides that. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. The world is going crazy with that one though. It flabbergasts me.”
Since leaving the Big Brother house, Siwa has broken up with Kath Ebbs and assures fans the cause of the split had nothing to do with her close friendship with houseguest Chris Hughes.
When asked if being queer could mean she could one day be attracted to a man, Siwa left the door open.
“Welcome to being 21. Welcome to being queer,” she said. “I’ve changed a lot since I was 14 in the last seven years. I’m sure I’m going to change a lot until I’m 28. I have been in beautiful relationships with women, who I love and adore very much. I’ve been in a beautiful relationship with somebody who’s non-binary. I’ve been in a beautiful relationship with men, throwback to my original days.”
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Siwa acknowledges there is a side of the internet that has been extra vocal in support of her journey.
While she remains hard at work in her professional life — her new song “Bulletproof” comes out May 16 before she embarks on the Live With JoJo Tour in July — the positive comments have made a positive impact.
“I see those people and I literally take a sigh of relief and I’m like, “Thank you,’” she said with a sigh. “Because I think that some people are looking a little too deep into things. It’s fine. They’re gonna do what they do. And so that’s kind of why I let them.”
