JoJo Siwa clarified her thoughts on the word “lesbian” after she caught some heat for not using the term to identify her sexuality.
“I never said lesbian was a dirty word and I would never, ever say it’s a dirty word because it is not‘ said Siwa, 19, in a video posted on TikTok Friday. “It’s not a bad word, it’s not a taint, and most of all, it’s not a word I’m ashamed to say or ashamed to identify with in any way.”
She continued, “If someone talks to me about my sexuality, I just say I’m gay.”
Siwa went on to say that she personally doesn’t like “the sound” of the word, telling fans, “I don’t hate the word lesbian…it’s not the word that comes off my tongue, if that makes sense.”
The “Dance Moms” alum – who came out as gay in January 2021 – made the clarification after receiving a response last week for saying she didn’t like the word “lesbian” to use.
“I don’t like the word itself,” the singer told Yahoo! Life at the time, adding: “It’s just, like ‘lesbian’, it’s like a lot.”
She added, “Eventually I am,” comparing the term to the word “moist.”
Siwa pointed out that society often mistakenly assumes that lesbians are male.
“You can be queer and girly. I think that’s one thing, ‘lesbians’ are often considered male,” she said in the controversial interview. ‘If you’re a lesbian, you should be, do you want to be a boy? That is not the case. There are plenty of very feminine lesbians.”
Siwa was dragged along by several Twitter users, who wrote things like, Lesbian is not a dirty word and the stigma should be BAD unlearned,” and “in light of a recent Jojo Siwa interview, here’s a quick reminder that lesbian is’ not a bad or dirty word.”
A third person argued that Siwa “should be held 100% responsible for the rhetoric she spreads”, adding: “I really hope she learns to accept herself and her identity, but that’s my condolences. Her words were extremely harmful and she should know better.”
Others were more understanding, pointing out that several women in the queer community struggle with using the term “lesbian.”
“Jojo siwa says she’s technically a lesbian but doesn’t like the term because it’s a lot like the word ‘moist’ and I don’t blame her…this is what happens when words get stigmatized,” tweeted one person .
“Woooooow, you are all incredibly cruel to Jojo Siwa’s obviously internalized lesbophobia. I’ve had the same convo w tons of lesbians here, so a lot of us had to deal with accepting ‘lesbian’ as our descriptor after hearing it as the most vile insult imaginable,” said a second.
In the spring of 2021, Siwa told People that she identifies as queer and pansexual.
“I still don’t know what I am. It’s like I want to find out,” she said at the time.
“I like gays. Technically I’d say I’m pansexual because that’s how I’ve always been all my life…just like, my human is my human.”
In January, Siwa also celebrated its one-year anniversary as part of the LGBTQIA+ community.
“Honestly, I feel like I was put on this earth to be a role model for children, and to let all the children of the world know that loving everyone for who they are, no matter what, is something I will always believe in and always share,” she wrote on Instagram.
Siwa, who recently made headlines for describing Candice Cameron Bure as the “rudest” celebrity she’s ever met, has since made history by becoming the first person on “Dancing With the Stars” to rival a partner of the same sex. She has been on and off with Kylie Prew since February 2021.