The Veronicas’ Jessica Origliasso says she was ‘outed by the tabloids’ early in her career
Jessica Origliasso of The Veronicas said she was “outed by tabloids” early in her career and was called a “fake lesbian” in media attacks. (Getty)
The Veronicas’ Jessica Origliasso said she was “outed by the tabloids” early in her career and the backlash over her sexuality that followed.
Aussie pop duo The Veronicas, a band consisting of twins Jessica and Lisa Origliasso, spoke to Stellar Magazine about how they were accused of “queerbaiting” and that Jess struggled to navigate “labels” around her life.
“I was out back then by default – outed by tabloids,” Jessica recalled, referring to how she was pressured by the press after she was first romantically linked to Ruby Rose.
“My statement [then] was that I didn’t need to make a statement. ‘I’m just going to be me, and if you all want to call me a fake lesbian’ – which is what they called me at the time – ‘I don’t really care.’”
The singer and Rose were first linked in 2008 after Rose starred in The Veronicas music video for “On Your Side”. The pair proceeded to make headlines for their on-again, off-again relationship before announcing their split in April 2018.
Lisa recalled being told that the sisters were “attention seeking” and “queerbaiting” in the media attacks at the time.
“It was weird to have it written about so publicly because you don’t really see that anymore,” Jessica added.
“I was 20. I didn’t want to give them an answer because I didn’t know what the answer was at the time. Labels were loaded back then. But all of our fans knew I was queer; I wrote about it in so many songs.”
In 2008, Jessica said it was “ridiculously degrading” for the media to label her a “fake lesbian” because she didn’t want to come out, according to Perth Now.
“If a celebrity doesn’t come out and make a statement about their sexuality they’re a ‘fake lesbian’. What happened to privacy?” she said.
The “Untouched” singer added she wasn’t “going to be tricked into feeling” like she had to “make a statement about something because everyone wants confirmation”.
“I’ll just live my life how I want. If they want to call me a fake lesbian and degrade my sexuality and my choices, go ahead, I’ll just ignore it,” Jessica said.
