JoJo Siwa Comes Out as Part of LGBTQ+ Community: Celebs React

Opening up! JoJo Siwa discussed her sexuality and came out as part of the LGBTQ+ community on Friday, January 22, by taking to social media with a shirt reading “Best. Gay. Cousin. Ever.”

“My cousin got me a new shirt,” the 17-year-old internet sensation captioned the Twitter photo. Then, one day later, she told fans in an Instagram Live video that she’s “really happy” after coming out.

“Personally, I have never, ever, ever been this happy before and it feels really awesome. I’ve been happy for a little bit now. It’s just so, so, so awesome,” the Nickelodeon star told her millions of followers before addressing how she would “label” herself. “The reason I’m not going to say this answer is because I don’t really know this answer. I think humans are awesome, I think humans are really incredible people. Right now, I’m super duper happy and I want to share everything with the world, but I also want to keep things in my life private until they are ready to be public. Right now what matters is that you guys know that no matter who you love, that it’s OK.”

JoJo continued, “There are so many accepting and loving people out there that it’s OK. Of course, people are going to say it’s not normal, but nothing is normal. Literally not one thing about anybody is normal and it’s OK not to be normal, it’s OK to be a little different, it’s OK to be a little weird, strange, different. That’s something we should never, ever be afraid of. That’s something we should be proud of. … I’m the happiest I’ve ever been, that’s what matters.”

Throughout the 14-minute livestream, the “D.R.E.A.M.” songstress fielded questions from fans about her ex-boyfriend Mark Bontempo (noting that “people in life break up”), how long she’s been a part of the LGBTQ+ community (“I think my whole life”) and whether or not her parents are being supportive. “Like my dad said, love is universal. You guys can love whoever you want to love, and you guys can do in life whatever you want to do,” JoJo said, concluding the video.

Hollywood has taken over social media the past few days to praise and support the blonde beauty. Scroll through our gallery to see how all your favorite celebrities reacted to JoJo’s coming out!

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Kenzie Ziegler

“She’s such a big inspiration for young kids and I’m just so glad she’s sharing this with the world, because it’s definitely going to inspire a lot more guys and girls to come out to their families,” she told Access in February 2021. “I’m so proud of her, I love her so much. She’s just amazing.”

Abby Lee Miller

“I’m very proud, I’m very proud,” the Dance Moms star told Entertainment Tonight in February 2021. “I don’t think she hides anything really. I think maybe she just didn’t know.”

She continued, “Her life is for the whole world to know about. Every single thing that she’s doing with social media now, everybody knows what we’re doing and what we’re up to at every moment. And we tell them, we share it … So for her to make that statement and to share that, that’s what she wanted to do.”

Nia Sioux

“I think that it’s amazing, and I’m really, really proud of her. I’m really proud of her,” JoJo’s former Dance Moms costar told Access Hollywood in February 2021. “I texted her, I was like, ‘Dude, I’m so proud of you,’ and she was like, ‘Thank you.’ So yeah, I haven’t seen her in a long time, but I’m really, really happy for her and she does look really happy.”