JoJo Siwa said her time on Celebrity Big Brother UK so far has helped her come out as queer.
On the April 22 episode of the series, Siwa spoke with housemate Danny Beard about this shift in her identity, saying, “I feel, like, so queer, do you know what I mean? I think that’s the thing. I’ve always told myself I’m a lesbian, and I think being here I’ve realized: ‘Oh, I’m not a lesbian, I’m queer.’ And I think that’s really cool” (via E! News).
The singer, actress, and former Dance Moms star then jokingly exclaimed, “I’m switching letters! Fuck the ‘L,’ I’m going to the ‘Q’!” (Beard, a former Drag Race UK contestant chimed in with a fantastic pun/bit of encouragement: “You are Q, honey. And you know that British people love a queue!”)
Siwa came out as a lesbian in 2021, but in identifying as queer, Siwa said she was open to all genders and identities (Siwa is currently dating Kath Ebbs, a content creator who identifies as non-binary). Even before this most recent revelation, Siwa has discussed her evolving gender identity and sexuality on Celebrity Big Brother. At one point, she and housemate Chris Hughes were flagged for speaking in code in violation of the show’s rules, but it turned out it was a secret language to help Siwa speak more openly about “gender and how I feel.”
She continued, “I’ve met a lot of females. Love them, [but] don’t feel like them. Met a lot of males — love them, [but] definitely not them. Met a lot of people in my life that are nonbinary, and these beautiful nonbinary people are who I feel the most like and… I don’t know, it’s not something I want to say about myself yet, but it’s something that is confusing.”
But Siwa was also dragged into controversy by actor Mickey Rourke, who received a warning after making a series of homophobic remarks during production. Rourke later agreed to leave the Big Brother house over his inappropriate language as well as an encounter with Hughes that was “considered to be threatening and aggressive” (though no physical altercation took place). Rourke has since apologized, admitting he “stepped over the line.”
