JoJo Siwa on ‘bullying’ from LGBTQ+ community: ‘It feels like my own family has turned’

JoJo Siwa has gone deep on the backlash and in-person abuse she’s received from the LGBTQ+ community after getting into a relationship with a man.

Speaking candidly on the Reign with Josh Smith podcast, the 22-year-old “Karma” singer said that she now feels a “guard come up” when she interacts with a queer person, due to the “brutal bullying” she received after confirming her romance with former Love Island star Chris Hughes.

Siwa met Hughes in the Celebrity Big Brother house back in April, and during her time in the house, she confirmed that she is queer rather than a lesbian, a label she had previously identified with.

In June, Siwa confirmed that she and Hughes were a couple, but the announcement sparked intense backlash from some factions of the LGBTQ+ community, who felt she had somehow betrayed them.

“It is hard because it feels like my own family has turned a little bit. And I think we are the LGBTQIA+ family, not the LG community and it’s a beautiful rainbow and the number one saying of the queer community is love is love. And that goes both ways,” she told podcast host Josh Smith.

“Just because I am in a heterosexual relationship that doesn’t discredit my past.”

Expanding, the former Dance Moms star revealed that she has experienced numerous in-person instances of “bullying” since confirming her romance with Hughes, including a queer couple “laughing” at her, and another flipping their middle finger at her.

She explained that a “guard comes up” when she meets queer people now, “because I immediately go, ‘Do they like me or do they hate me? Does he already have a preconceived opinion of me? Is he on the side of the internet, that is, ooh, she’s a horrible person?’”

She said the past few months have taught her how “brutal hate” and “brutal bullying” can be both from outside and inside of the LGBTQ+ community.

“Women holding hands, women cuddling together in public, I see them see me and I see them laugh, I see them point, I see them roll their eyes. Now I see them come up to me and take a photo and run away,” she shared.

“I see them flip me off while I’m driving. I see them. Someone the other day came and stood outside my studio with the middle finger up for about two minutes, and then just walked away from within the queer community.”

Since leaving the Celebrity Big Brother house, JoJo Siwa has also courted controversy for a rendition of Kim Carnes’ “Bette Davis Eyes”, for which she dressed up as a traditional, 1950s era housewife.

The cover became a lighting rod for mimicking on TikTok and other social media apps, and Siwa has now warned that while she could “take it”, others might not be able to.

“It’s fun to bully me. I’ll give it to people. It’s very fun to bully me. They have a good time doing it. I make it easy for them,” she said. But the thing is people know that I can take it so they know they can punch, they know they can have fun with it.”

Asked how she now defines her sexuality, Siwa said that she is “queer” but also happy with “pansexual” or “bisexual”.

“Honest I would define myself as happy. Some people now call me straight,” she said.

“I am in a heterosexual relationship. I’m so deeply in love with a man [but] I would probably just say queer. I think that’s a beautiful umbrella term, and it gives flexibility, it gives fluid.

“I think that pansexual obviously is exactly what I feel. I think some people would also just say bisexual. I don’t get hung up on that.”

The pop star also revealed that she has “never cared” about someone as much as she cares about Hughes, and that she is keen for a wedding. 

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