JoJo Siwa Explains Why She No Longer Identifies as a Lesbian

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JoJo Siwa is still discovering more about her gender and sexuality four years after initially coming out, saying that she no longer identifies as lesbian on a recent episode of Celebrity Big Brother U.K.

On Tuesday’s live stream of the U.K. reality series, Siwa and housemate Danny Beard discussed identity and sexuality, an ongoing conversation throughout their time on the show. The pair were chatting after a triple elimination.

“I think I’ve always told myself I’m a lesbian,” the former Dance Moms star said to Beard, a winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race U.K. who identifies as queer. “I think you — I think being here I realize, ‘Oh, I’m not a lesbian, I’m queer.’”

“You are,” Beard replied.

“And I think that’s really cool. I’m switching letters! Fuck the L, I’m going to the Q,” she continued, referring to the LGBTQ+ acronym. “That’s what I love about sexuality.”

When Siwa, who uses any pronouns, first opened up about her sexuality in 2021, she declined to name a specific label. When later asked about it during an Instagram Live video, she said “I have thought about this, but the reason I’m not going to say this answer is because I don’t really know this answer.” Within a few months, they began to identify as pansexual. More recently, she publicly identified as a lesbian, notably announcing the label in a 2023 video with Joey Graceffa.

On Big Brother, Siwa, who has previously dubbed herself the “CEO of gay pop,” has been opening up about their journey in multiple ways. In one emotional scene, Siwa described her gender journey as “confusing,” and said that while nonbinary people are those “who I feel the most like,” she wasn’t yet ready to apply the label to themself. In promotion for the series, they also explained that they use any pronouns.

In the third episode of the show, Mickey Rourke directed homophobic language at Siwa, along with what appeared be a joke about corrective rape. Rourke was formally reprimanded by the show and ultimately booted from the house.

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