A lot has happened in the 365 days since JoJo Siwa first came out as the “best gay cousin ever” on Instagram, and the young star doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon.
Siwa took to Instagram for a quick, heartfelt post and small photo recap of the past year.
JoJo Siwa celebrates coming out a year later
Siwa’s Instagram post featured a small photo and video dump of some of the things she has accomplished within the past year.
First and foremost, she reposted her original coming-out picture featuring the “Best. Gay. Cousin. Ever” shirt that was gifted to her.
She shared a photo of her cover on People Magazine with the quote “I’m so proud to be me.”
Another featured image is a snapshot of her and her partner from Dancing With the Stars this past season. Notably, they were the first same-sex pairing on the show.
Alongside these photos is a video of herself dancing and lip-syncing to Lady Gaga’s Born This Way, a famed LGBTQ anthem.
Her post reads, “In the last 365 days I’ve felt more love than ever. A year ago today I posted this picture and shared with the world that I was gay. I get asked a lot ‘was coming out scary for you’… and the answer is yes of course, anything that’s different about you scary, however… it’s what makes me… me. so I had no fear with sharing it with the world. I also get asked a lot ‘your demographic is so young are you worried about telling kids your gay'”
She continued, “Truthfully I feel like I was put on this earth to be a role model for kids, and letting all the kids of the world know that loving everyone for who they are no matter what is something that I will always believe in and always share. please never forget that no matter who you are, what you look like, who you LOVE that you are absolutely perfect. thank you for showing me the most love throughout this year and throughout my entire life. I love you all.”
After Siwa made her initial post last year, she went on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and went into more detail about her sexuality and her relationship. She confirmed that she was dating Kylie Prew, but the couple split in October 2021.
Although some may criticize Jo Siwa for being so open with her sexuality, the star is happy to be an LGBTQ model for a young audience and has been praised for being a gay icon at such a young age and encouraging younger audiences to be more open and accepting towards others and, most importantly, themselves.
JoJo Siwa reflects on being a gay icon at such a young age
Siwa admitted in an interview with Yahoo! that when she first came out, she looked at the comment section of her post and knew immediately that she shouldn’t have because there was so much backlash.
However, she was also met with a lot of love and support from the people she knew and strangers online as well. Her favorite thing to hear is what adults have to say to her about her coming out to her younger audience.
“I think something that I appreciate hearing the most is actually something that comes from adults when they say, ‘I wish I had someone like you when I was little.’ There is a lot of weight on my shoulders and there is a lot on my mind all the time, but it’s almost like the world just loves who I am,” Siwa said. “That gives me so much joy knowing that there are kids who are little who now have me, and it’s just a constant reminder of be yourself.”
LGBTQ adults are far from the only adults who support JoJo Siwa.
Her mother has been a constant support for her. Although she has had to learn to deal with sometimes cruel comments herself, Siwa’s mother just wants her daughter to be happy and overall, wants people to be nice to her.