JoJo Siwa would like to set the record straight about some of her recent comments.
The 19-year-old performer found herself in some hot water recently after Yahoo! Life published an interview with her earlier this week during whch she shared that she did not like the word “lesbian.” She said at the time:
“I don’t like the word itself. It’s just like a lot. But I mean, at the end of the day, that’s what I am. It’s like the word moist. It’s just like… ugh!”
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While some people did not take an issue with what JoJo said, others believed she was trying to imply that “lesbian” is a “dirty word” – with many social media users also pointing out that her remarks are troubling due to her large online platform:
“um in light of a recent jojo siwa interview, here’s a quick reminder that lesbian isn’t a bad or dirty word”
“first girl in red now jojo siwa, lesbian is not a dirty word and the stigma needs to be unlearned BADLY”
“not jojo siwa comparing the word lesbian to the word moist like bestie please, you have a big platform amongst younger people, please don’t say that :/”
“not jojo siwa calling the word lesbian gross when she has a fandom full of children who will preach every word she says. even if it’s a personal issue don’t go and make it anyone else’s by being mean and hurting lesbians. should’ve just kept quiet fr”
“jojo siwa comparing the word lesbian to the word moist.. lesbian is not a dirty word how many times do we have to say this”
“lesbian is a beautiful word, f**k jojo siwa for calling it ‘moist’ and ‘ugh’ absolutely disgusting. to all my lesbian mutuals ur so so valid i love u all so so much”
After catching wind of the online discourse, the Dance Moms alum decided to hop on TikTok Friday to clarify the whole situation. In the video, JoJo made it very clear that she “never said that lesbian is a dirty word,” saying:
“I’ve been going through my comments and I just want to make something super clear: I never said that lesbian was a dirty word and I never, ever would say it was a dirty word because it is not. It is not a bad word. It is not a slur and it is especially not a word that I am ashamed of saying or ashamed of identifying as by any means.”
The Nickelodeon star, who is currently dating Kylie Prew, went on to explain that she did not have an issue with the word lesbian or its connotation but simply disliked the sound of it:
“I don’t hate the word ‘lesbian,’ I just – whenever someone talks to me about my sexuality, I just say that I’m gay. It’s not the word that flows off the tongue for me if that makes sense.”
Alongside the video, she included the caption:
“[Neither] my sexuality nor ANYONES is a dirty word.”
You can ch-ch-check out her entire explanation (below).
@itsjojosiwa Replying to @????Liz???? my sexuality nor ANYONES is a dirty word ❤️????️????
What do YOU think about this matter, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments (below).
[Image via MEGA/WENN]