JoJo Siwa is gay and this is what it means

With the publication of this tweet, it is official and indisputable: Joelle Joanne Siwa is gay. And this is a massive win for the LGBTQ+ community.

Allow me to explain.

In the past few years, JoJo Siwa has all but become the next Hannah Montana. She’s the pinnacle of child star culture. Her songs are sickeningly peppy, to the point where teenaged and adult listeners cringe at the lyrics before they can even notice the production.

She did this on purpose. JoJo Siwa is nearly eighteen. Similar to Ke$ha’s promiscuous image, Siwa’s persona is an exaggeration of one part of her personality. Which leads one to wonder, why would she ever choose that part of her personality to exaggerate? I don’t mean the energetic way of talking, per se, but the glitter. And the ice cream. And the JoJo Juice.

The thing is, behind all of this, Siwa is an expert businesswoman (assuming that the “best gay cousin” shirt uses gay as an umbrella term for bisexual/lesbian, not something else). She carefully positioned herself as the most powerful force in the childrens’ music industry. She’s going to have as much of an influence on kids’ lives as early Disney Channel series did on many of yours. And she did this on purpose.

It’s easy to think that her purpose is to make money. And while that’s always a motivator, she said it herself on an interview with Jimmy Fallon. She’s here to spread an uplifting message.

And now that’s what she’s doing.

JoJo’s face is on everything. She has an entire business empire. She has made entire videos going through her merch catalog, since there’s so much of it. She has solidified herself everywhere. People have shirts, backpacks, even food with her face on it.

Not only that, but her image is that of innocence. People tell their kids to listen to JoJo Siwa, since it’s clean. People point to her as the pinnacle of cheerful innocence. She’s a role model to kids all around the world.

And now she’s gay.

Now homophobes around the world are going to have to grapple with the fact that gay can also be innocent. This isn’t Miley Cyrus. She didn’t release any raunchy singles before coming out. She’s at the height of her career. Kids love her songs, teens love her TikToks, parents love her safety. She’s showing homophobes that gay people can also be marketed towards a young audience.