JoJo Siwa dropped out of a Pride event next weekend in the midst of backlash for confirming she’s dating a straight man after years of being widely considered a gay media icon.
The 22-year-old “Dance Moms” alum-turned-YouTuber will no longer perform at Chicago’s Back Lot Bash, the event announced on Instagram. Though organizers said the decision was “due to a scheduling conflict,” some couldn’t help but wonder if it had anything to do with the recent criticism.
Siwa, who came out in 2021, clarified her sexuality in April during her time on “Celebrity Big Brother UK,” saying she no longer identifies as a lesbian and instead considers herself queer.
She discussed her sexuality again in an interview this week, saying that despite being previously so vocal about being a lesbian, she actually felt pressured to label herself that way and box herself in.
Her comments came just weeks after Siwa confirmed in late May that she’s officially in a relationship with 32-year-old Chris Hughes, her castmate on “Celebrity Big Brother” and the only straight man she’s dated since 2021.
The announcement was immediately met with backlash, with some claiming she cheated on her partner Kath Ebbs and others accusing her of “using the lesbian community to get views and clout.”
“Imagine making your ENTIRE personality be about how gay you are then you meet one weird older dude that’s manipulative and calculating and you cheat on your partner with him and decide you’re not gay,” wrote one user in the comments.
“You don’t go from being a lesbian, to being in love with a dude overnight. Or you never really were gay in first place,” said another.
A third person called Siwa “diabolical” for “cheating and lying” about her sexuality.
Even Miley Cyrus was among those bristling at the relationship, telling World Pride earlier this month that she would go back into the closet to “find JoJo Siwa and bring her back out.”
Siwa addressed the “hate from within community” on Wednesday, telling TMZ that the “LGBTQIA community needs to be remember that love is love.”
She then turned the focus to happy she currently is, calling Hughes her “favorite person in the world” and saying she even has marriage on the mind.
Prior to labeling herself a lesbian, Siwa told People in April 2021 that she was still figuring out the specifics of her sexuality.
“I still don’t know what I am … bisexual, pansexual, queer, lesbian, gay, straight. I always just say gay because it kind of covers it or queer because I think the Q-word is cool,” she said at the time. “Technically I would say that I am pansexual because that’s how I have always been … my human is my human.”
In the years since coming out, Siwa has been linked to Kylie Prew, Katie Mills, Avery Cyrus, Dakayla Wilson and Ebbs.
