Jojo Siwa Under Fire After Clarifying Issue Regarding Labels of Her Sexuality
Jojo Siwa has received a lot of support from fans and other celebrities after coming out as queer last year, but she recently faced backlash after clarifying the label of her sexuality in a recent interview.
Speaking to Yahoo! Life, the TV star said it's an honor to be called a "gay icon" after being candid with her sexuality last year, but claimed that she doesn't "like the word" lesbian.
Siwa said people could be "queer and girly," and there are times when lesbians are "taken to be masculine."
"'If you're a lesbian, do you wanna be a boy?' That's not the case. There are plenty of very feminine lesbians," she added. (via The Independent UK)
Even though the "Dance Mom" alum is only attracted to women, the dancer said she prefers not to identify herself as a lesbian because she doesn't like the word itself but clarified that it is what defines her at the end of the day.
Elsewhere in the interview, the "So You Think You Can Dance" judge said she feels honored to be a "gay icon" as she represents the younger generation of the LGBTQIA+ community.
The title was something that she didn't appoint to herself, but rather by many fans worldwide.
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"That is an honor that I do not take lightly," she added.
Shortly after her interview was released online, many fans immediately took to Twitter to call out the TV star and express their thoughts about her recent statement.
"first girl in red now jojo siwa, lesbian is not a dirty word and the stigma needs to be unlearned BADLY," one wrote.
"like how is jojo siwa just gonna perpetuate the stigmatisation that comes with the term "lesbian" ... it really be your own people sometimes," another one wrote.
Despite the backlash, some users defended Siwa, saying she meant the "sound of the word" and she's not against the word "lesbian" itself.
"I think she just meant she doesn't like the SOUND of the word. There are plenty of words that just rub people the wrong way, not for their meaning, but just the sound of them feels off. I'm sure that's it," one wrote.
As of this writing, Jojo Siwa has not publicly commented regarding the internet uproar.
