When former child star JoJo Siwa came out as a lesbian in January 2021, many members of the LGBTQ+ community accused her of queerbaiting, also known as gay for pay.
Queerbaiting and gay for pay are derogatory terms used to describe a heterosexual celebrity who exploits the LGBTQ+ community for marketing and public relations purposes.
In a recent interview with the Daily Mail’s YOU Magazine, JoJo revealed that she had been “pressured” to come out as a lesbian.
She explained that she had felt compelled to identify as a lesbian due to external pressure, stating, “I kind of boxed myself in and said, ‘I’m a lesbian.’ I think I did that because of pressure.”
JoJo further clarified that the pressure she felt came from “inside the [LGBTQ] community at times.” She finally admitted that she was not a lesbian on an episode of Celebrity Big Brother UK earlier this year.
JoJo, a 22-year-old CBB cast member, began dating her fellow cast member Chris Hughes, who is 32 years old.
Siwa, referring to sexuality as “fluid,” expressed her excitement about her sexuality, saying, “I’ve dropped the L and I’ve gone to the Q baby! That’s what I love about sexuality.”
JoJo’s fans on Reddit.com were furious and felt betrayed and used by her.
In an Instagram post in January 2021, the then-17-year-old YouTube star addressed her pre-teen fans, saying, “Personally, I have never been this happy before, and it feels really awesome. I’ve been happy for a little while now. It’s just so, so, so awesome. You guys probably haven’t seen me this happy since I was on tour.”
JoJo avoided explicitly stating that she is a member of the LGBTQ+ community, saying, “The reason I’m not going to say this answer is because I don’t really know this answer.”
Sandrarose.com’s readers were not convinced by her coming out announcement in 2021.
A reader named Geezy commented in the comments, saying, “She’s not gay! It’s part of the agenda because these kids love her so much. They manipulate and brainwash kids with the people they love.”
Another reader wrote, “The gag was ‘promoting hair bows and sequins to little girls, when the REAL agenda was to promote that LGBTQ+ life.’”
