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Her comments were taken out of context.
By Nia Tipton — Written on Aug 01, 2022
Following the backlash JoJo Siwa received after a recent interview, the internet sensation has clarified a statement that was taken slightly out of context.
During an interview with Yahoo Life, the "Dancing with the Stars" alum shared her issues with the word lesbian. While Siwa admitted that she enjoys being celebrated as a gay icon and identifies as lesbian, it's not a word that she particularly likes.
Fans accused JoJo Siwa of stigmazing the word 'lesbian.'
"I don't like the word itself," she told the publication. "It's just like a lot. But I mean, at the end of the day, that's what I am. ... It's like the word moist. It's just like ... ugh!"
The "Dance Moms" star immediately received hordes of backlash on social media, who spoke out in support of the word.
"In light of a recent jojo siwa interview, here's a quick reminder that lesbian isn't a bad or dirty word," one user tweeted.
Another user added: "lesbian is not a dirty word and the stigma needs to be unlearned."
However, other users tried to sympathize with Siwa, pointing out that she probably has "internalized homophobia" to work through.
"Not trying to cancel her for having internalized homophobia or anything im just saying she didn't really have to do all that," one user wrote.
Another user added: "I’ve had that same convo w tons of [lesbians] on here, so many of us had to process accepting 'lesbian' as our descriptor after hearing it hurled as the most vicious insult imaginable."
Following the heavy criticism, Siwa, who came out as gay in early 2021, clarified her comments in a TikTok video, responding to a user who wrote: "that is not what happened, she called it a dirty word. She did nothing but insult us, my sexuality is not a dirty word.”
“Okay, I've been going through my comments, and I just want to make something super clear, I never said that lesbian was a dirty word, and I never ever would say that it’s a dirty word because it is not,” Siwa said.
“It is not a bad word. It is not a slur, and it especially is not a word that I am ashamed of saying or ashamed of identifying as by any means.”
Siwa continued: "Now if you look at the comment that this is commented under -- if that makes sense -- it says ‘I'm sorry that people are trying to cancel you for not liking the sound of the word.’ And that’s exactly it.
"I don’t hate the word lesbian. I just, whenever somebody talks to me about my sexuality, I just say that that I'm gay. It's not a word that flows off the tongue for me if that makes sense.”
Since coming out, Siwa has been open about her sexuality, especially when it comes to discussing it on her social media platforms.
In January 2022, Siwa celebrated her 1-year anniversary since coming out. In a post, Siwa shared that she is grateful for all of the love she's received since.
“I get asked a lot 'was coming out scary for you' … and the answer is yes of course, 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," she wrote in an Instagram post.
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.