After a TikTok video surfaced online appearing to show JoJo Siwa say that she thought the word lesbian was a “dirty word,” she was quick to clarify the remarks.
“I never said that lesbian was a dirty word and I never, ever would say that it’s a dirty word because it is not,” Siwa told a fan on social media.
“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.”
@itsjojosiwa Replying to @🌈Liz🌈 ♬ Born This Way – Lady Gaga
“I don’t hate the word lesbian. … Whenever someone talks to me about my sexuality, I just say that I’m gay,” she explained. “It’s not the word that flows off the tongue for me, if that makes sense.”
Speaking to Unapologetically, she talked about being a gay icon.
“It’s not about being comfortable with being the face of the LGBTQ young demographic, young age, youngling,” she said. “It’s about being honored with that. It’s something that I’ve been appointed by, not myself, by just the world calling me a gay icon, calling me this generation’s icon. That is an honor that I do not take lightly.”
