JoJo Siwa’s Girlfriend Inspired Her to Come Out

JoJo Siwa, the Taylor Swift of children’s music, recently made waves when she came out as queer in spectacularly Gen Z fashion: first via a playful TikTok, then in a more clear-cut photo posted to her Twitter, and finally in an Instagram video. In a Wednesday interview with Jimmy Fallon, the pop-star teen revealed what life has been like since coming out, and how she was encouraged each step of the way by her girlfriend.

“It was the most love I think I’ve ever received,” Siwa said of the press explosion after her initial post. The teen, who rose to fame on Dance Moms and as a Nickelodeon star, told Fallon that she hadn’t planned on coming out, but happened to be making a series of TikToks with the group Pride House. At one point, Siwa realized, she might accidentally out herself by posting one of the videos. “It’s not something I’m ashamed of, I just haven’t shown the internet yet,” she told Fallon, explaining her hesitancy. 

But then, with some support from her girlfriend, she decided to have a little fun with it, posting a cryptic TikTok set to Lady Gaga’s anthemic “Born This Way.” The speculation began almost immediately, just as she thought it would, and the singer’s publicist asked her if she just wanted to confirm the rumors. At first Siwa declined, but 10 minutes later, she went ahead and posted a photo of herself wearing a shirt that read “Best. Gay. Cousin. Ever,” following a FaceTime conversation with her girlfriend. “I text her [my publicist] and I was like, ‘Hey, so about not confirming...’” Siwa said with a laugh.

The teen singer, who has legions of fans, admitted that it felt like a “big risk” to come out publicly, though her friends and family had known about her sexuality for a while. “But if I lost everything that I’ve created because of being myself and because of loving who I wanna love, I don’t want it,” she said.

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