JoJo Siwa has revealed she has a girlfriend as she reflected on coming out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community in an interview with Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday.
The YouTube and TikTok star, 17, gushed about her ‘wonderful, perfect, most beautiful’ partner, and said it was her other half who encouraged her to come out publicly by posting her picture in a ‘Best. Gay. Cousin. Ever.’ shirt.
She added that while she felt it was ‘a risk’ to come out she knew more people would accept it than not, and she was delighted she could ‘share what makes her the happiest with the world’.
Smitten: JoJo Siwa revealed she has a girlfriend as she reflected on coming out on Wednesday and says while it was ‘a risk’ she’s delighted she can ‘share what makes her the happiest’
Of coming out, Jojo told Jimmy: ‘It was the most insane thing ever, literally everyone and their brother called me, texted me, sent me Instagram messages, tweeted me.
‘It was the most love I think I ever received, and the cool thing was it was the last little piece of me that the world hadn’t seen yet and it was really awesome.’
Asked if she had planned to come out publicly, JoJo claimed that when she was making her TikTok dance video with her friends in the Pride House she quickly realised it was ‘going to out me.’
‘I don’t really mind, because it is true,’ she said. ‘I have the most amazing, wonderful, perfect, most beautiful girlfriend in the whole world, it’s not something I’m ashamed of, it’s just something I haven’t shown the internet yet.’
Supportive: JoJo gushed about her ‘wonderful, perfect, most beautiful’ partner, and said she encouraged her to come out publicly by posting her picture in a ‘Best. Gay. Cousin. Ever.’ shirt
Gushing: JoJo said of her partner: ‘I have the most amazing, wonderful, perfect, most beautiful girlfriend in the whole world, it’s not something I’m ashamed of’
JoJo went on: ‘So they posted that and people started commenting to me “is this you coming out, what is this?” I thought, you know what? I can either mess with them and tease them a little bit, I either confirm it because it is true, or I can do nothing about it and just leave it there.
‘I thought I just want to do a TikTok to born this way, because yea it’s true right away and it’s okay. So I did this TikTok to Born This Way and everyone was like “woah, this is her coming out, this is the moment.”‘
Going on to talk about the photo she took in her ‘best gay cousin’ shirt, she added: ‘I was on FaceTime with my girlfriend – this is after I posted the Born This Way TikTok- and we were just talking about it and the love that come in, and we were both like technically I still haven’t confirmed it.
‘And, so, I was like I kind of want to post this picture on my real Instagram story and she was like “do it” and I was like “alright” and I did it.’
Reaction: Of coming out, Jojo told Jimmy: ‘It was the most insane thing ever, literally everyone and their brother called me, texted me, sent me Instagram messages, tweeted me’
Decision: Going on to talk about the photo, she added: ‘I was on FaceTime with my girlfriend… and we were both like technically I still haven’t confirmed it’
Discussing how she felt about coming out, she admitted that it ‘can be a scary thing’ as she told Jimmy: ‘Some people aren’t going to be able to accept it right now, but so many people are going to be able to accept it right now.
‘And I say even there are a million people that don’t accept it, there’s 100 million that do, so keep that in mind.’
She continued: ‘So after I posted it I was like ‘alright I did it’ back to FaceTime with her… I was talking to her and was like you know what I realised? How much of a risk that was.
‘And she asked why and I said “Technically it was a really big risk posting that… but if I lost everything that I’ve created because of being myself and because of loving who I want to love I don’t want it.
‘If I can’t love who I want to love, that’s one of the most important things to me.’
In her corner: ‘So, I was like I kind of want to post this picture on my real Instagram story and she was like “do it” and I was like “alright” and I did it,’ JoJo added
Staying positive: JoJo admitted that it was ‘a scary thing’ to come out, but said: ‘Some people aren’t going to be able to accept it right now, but so many people are going to be able to’
JoJo then claimed: ‘About 10 minutes before I came out to do this interview today, I was again on the phone with my girl and I started crying.
‘She’s like, “What’s wrong with you?” I’m like, “I’m just so happy because now I get to share what makes me the happiest with the world, and it makes my heart so happy.”‘
After their candid chat, Jojo and Jimmy enjoyed a dance battle against each other which saw them do, amongst many others, a ‘flying ponycopter’ dance.
JoJo set off the commotion by posting a photo of herself wearing a ‘Best. Gay. Cousin. Ever.’ T-shirt on her Instagram Stories.
The YouTube sensation thanked her cousin for the garment as she showed off the black and blue T-shirt to her social media followers on Friday.
JoJo had cleared up any confusion about coming out on Saturday when she confirmed she’s a member of the LGBTQ+ community, but claimed she wasn’t ready to put a label on her sexuality just yet.
‘I have thought about this, and the reason why I’m not ready to say this answer is because I don’t really know this answer,’ Jojo explained.
She said: ‘I always believed that my person was just going to be my person. If that person happened to be a boy, great! And if that person happened to be a girl, great! I think I’m just really happy. I think in life you know when you meet your person, I really do.’
Out and proud: JoJo claimed: ‘It was a really big risk posting that… but if I lost everything that I’ve created because of being myself and because of loving who I want to love I don’t want it’
Fun: After their candid chat, Jojo and Jimmy enjoyed a dance battle against each other which saw them do, amongst many others, a ‘flying ponycopter’ dance
One person asked about her breakup with Mark Bontempo in November 2020, but she downplayed the possibility that it was related to her sexuality.
‘People in life break up,’ she said. ‘People as teenagers break up, you have a boyfriend or you have a girlfriend when you’re six years old and you break up with them, you’re not with them for forever.
‘I was a teenager, I still am a teenager but I think I’m pretty happy now. I’m pretty good now.’
Clearing things up: JoJo had confirmed she was part of the LGBTQ+ community in a hyperactive video she posted to her Instagram on Saturday
Taking her time: Asked about how she labeled herself, she said: ‘I have thought about this, and the reason why I’m not ready to say this answer is because I don’t really know this answer’