JoJo Siwahas had a rocky journey on this year's Celebrity Big Brother, going from being a victim of homophobic comments, to facing accusations of inappropriate flirting with fellow contestant Chris Hughes, and now finally a visibly uncomfortable discussion around their gender identity.
The former Dance Moms child star and singer, opened up on the topic this week, but they didn't choose to start the conversation – it was triggered by Celebrity Big Brother.
After a secret note between them and ex-Love Islander Chris Hughes was flagged as a potential rule break, they were asked to share what the message was about. They even shared 'it’s something I’m not ready necessarily to be open about' in response.
'I think that’s something I’ve realised in the house. Like, I love my partner so much… My thing is, I don’t know if I’m all for me. And that’s kind of what I’ve realised being here. Being removed from everything, I think I’m so overthinking everything,' they said.
'It’s something that I’m not ready, necessarily, to be open about or upfront about, but it has to do with gender and how do I feel. Let’s put it this way… Oh my god, this is a lot…'
Looking visibly uncomfortable and eventually upset, Hughes hugged them in response.
What has JoJo Siwa said about their gender identity?
Siwa appeared to suggest they felt closer to being non-binary, versus being a woman or man.
Siwa continued, 'Essentially, you have female, you have male. I’ve met a lot of females, love them, don’t feel like them. Met a lot of males, love them, definitely not them. Met a lot of people in my life that are non-binary, and these beautiful non-binary people are who I feel the most like and… I don’t know, it’s not something I want to say about myself yet, but it’s something that is confusing, and that’s probably why we were talking about it last night.'
Later in the garden, Drag Race UK winner Danny Beard gave them a hug and Siwa said, 'It’s a great conversation, and one that I shouldn’t be scared of having.'
Fan response to the moment has been outrage, with many accusing Celebrity Big Brother of forcing Siwa to share their gender identity when the star was clearly not ready and said as much. Many have also questioned why the moment wasn't cut in the episode's edit.
'JoJo Siwa is such an extraordinary human being. I can’t help but feel Big Brother forced her hand in revealing details about her gender she wasn’t ready to share, and I hope she was told this would air,' one person shared.
Big Brother praised the reality star, saying, 'JoJo, thank you for being so honest and sharing with Big Brother'.