JoJo Siwa says LGBTQ community 'pressured' her to come out as 'lesbian'—now she's dating a man

Dance Moms alum JoJo Siwa said in a recent interview that she felt forced to come out as a lesbian due to "pressure" from the LGBTQ community. Siwa, who announced she was a lesbian in 2021 but now identifies as "queer," garnered questions about her sexuality after announcing that she was in a romantic relationship with Love Island's Chris Hughes, her 32-year-old male Big Brother UK co-star.

"When I came out at 17, I said, 'I'm pansexual, because I don't care [about gender].' But then I kind of boxed myself in and I said, 'I'm a lesbian.' And I think I did that because of the pressure," Siwa told the Daily Mail.

When asked where the pressure came from, Siwa explained, "I think it came a little bit from inside the [LGBTQ] community at times. From people I know, from partners I've had. You just get put in this world where you feel like, because you now have said, 'Oh, I'm a lesbian,' you have to be a lesbian. And the truth is, sexuality is fluid."

Siwa, a singer and actress, was signed by Nickelodeon when she came out at 17. During her time with the network, Siwa starred in children's TV shows and traveled the country doing concerts for kids.

Speaking to E! News last month, Siwa said that she now identifies as queer after receiving pushback for dating Hughes, referring to the term queer as "beautiful."

"I think queer is an umbrella of, 'Look, I'm just me.' And I think the most beautiful thing about the LGBTQIA community is love is love. And that goes both ways," she said.

Siwa and Hughes' romance sparked after Hughes defended her from alleged homophobic remarks from another contestant on Celebrity Big Brother UK. The pair grew closer on the show and is now said to be in a loving relationship.

The singer has been attempting to shed the "child star" moniker over the last year, reinventing herself in ways similar to when Miley Cyrus left the Disney Channel, including provocative stunts. Siwa told the Daily Mail that after coming out as a lesbian, she believed Nickelodeon had "made the conscious choice to forget about her," so she redirected her focus on making music.