OK Magazine
JoJo Siwa is feeling the love.
The Dancing With the Stars alum celebrated her one-year anniversary since coming out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community with a heartfelt post over the weekend.
“In the last 365 days I’ve felt more love than ever. A year ago today I posted this picture and shared with the world that I was gay,” Siwa captioned her array of posts starting with a throwback snap of herself wearing a T-shirt that read: “Best. Gay. Cousin. Ever.”
The 18-year-old shared with her 11.4 million Instagram followers that she often gets asked if coming out was a “scary” experience, to which she admitted: “yes of course,” noting: “Anything that’s different about you is scary, however… it’s what makes me… me. so I had no fear with sharing it with the world.”
Siwa revealed she also frequently gets asked whether she worries about opening up about her sexuality to her fans since her demographic is so young. “Truthfully I feel like I was put on this earth to be a role model for kids, and letting all the kids of the world know that loving everyone for who they are no matter what is something that I will always believe in and always share,” the former Dance Moms star explained.
While wrapping up her impassioned post, Siwa encouraged her followers and fans to be and love who they want. “Please never forget that no matter who you are, what you look like, who you LOVE that you are absolutely perfect,” she concluded. “thank you for showing me the most love throughout this year and throughout my entire life. I love you all.”
Siwa also gushed over the milestone during her concert in Bakersfield, Calif., on Friday, January 21, where she discussed being so open about her sexuality with her young fanbase.
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“A lot of people said, ‘You have a really young demographic. Aren’t you afraid of telling them that you’re gay?’” she began to tell the crowd, per Daily Mail. “And I said, ‘I am definitely not afraid of telling my young demographic that loving everybody for who they are was exactly what you should do.’ I want to tell you that no matter who you are, no matter who you love, it’s OK.”
The dancer first hinted she was part of the LGBTQ+ community last year when she posted a video to TikTok of herself singing along to Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.” One day later, the pop star posted the photo of herself wearing the “Best. Gay. Cousin. Ever.” T-shirt, leading fans to speculate she was coming out to the world, per Page Six. Siwa confirmed she was a member of the LGBTQ+ community two days later.
Last April, Siwa clarified that she identifies as queer and pansexual, sharing: “My human is my human.”
Siwa — who made DWTS history as the first performer in the U.S. to compete with a same-sex partner — revealed she was dating ex-girlfriend Kylie Prew in February 2021. The former couple made their red carpet debut seven months later before calling it quits in November.
