JoJo Siwa comes out as gay after viral 'Born This Way' TikTok - NBC News

JoJo Siwa, the 17-year-old singer, dancer, actor and YouTube personality, has come out as gay, after alluding to it on social media in recent days.

Siwa first hinted at her coming out in a TikTok video posted to her over 31 million (and growing) followers on Thursday. In the video, she dances to “Born This Way,” the 2011 smash hit by Lady Gaga widely regarded as an LGBTQ anthem. The video has more than 4.5 million likes and 25 million views, by far Siwa’s most popular video on TikTok.

Out of the more than 260,000 comments on the video, several prominent YouTube influencers, such as James Charles, Colleen Ballinger, Nikkie de Jager, Bretman Rock and more, congratulated and praised her.

On Friday, Siwa posted a more definitive message, sharing a photo of herself wearing a shirt that reads “Best. Gay. Cousin. Ever.” and saying her cousin got it for her.

Praise and positive reactions poured in for Siwa on Twitter, making her a trending topic on Friday afternoon.

“if u spell ‘swag’ backwards, it’s ‘gay.’ coincidence??” wrote Lil Nas X, who publicly came out on Twitter in June 2019.

if u spell “swag” backwards, it’s “gay”. coincidence??
— nope (@LilNasX) January 22, 2021

Siwa also posted an Instagram photo of herself wearing a rainbow Gucci track jacket on Thursday, with thousands of comments from fans, including musician Luke Eisner, Paris Hilton and other celebrities, congratulating her.

As a dancer, Siwa first shot to fame on the Lifetime reality series “Dance Moms” and soon skyrocketed with her fashion, accessories and music aimed at a young audience. She signed with Nickelodeon in 2017 and appeared in the TV movie “Blurt,” “Lip Sync Battle Shorties” and is the youngest contestant ever on Fox’s “The Masked Singer.”

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