JoJo Siwa celebrated her coming out as gay a year ago. She shared her celebration on Instagram since joining the LGBTQ+ community.

“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.” she wrote beside the post, “I get asked a lot “was coming out scary for you”… and the answer is yes of course, anything that’s different about you is scary, however… it’s what makes me… me. so I had no fear with sharing it with the world.”

The 18-year-old continued in the said post, “I also get asked a lot “your demographic is so young are you worried about telling kids your gay”…. 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.”

In January 2021, the dancer and former Dance Moms star first sparked speculation about her sexuality after she posted a TikTok video singing along to Lady Gaga’s hit song Born This Way. The video featured her ip-syncing the lyrics, “No matter gay, straight or bi, lesbian transgender life / I’m on the right track baby, I was born to survive.”

The very next day she posted a picture of herself wearing a T-shirt with the prints, “Best. Gay. Cousin. Ever.” Just two days later she confirmed she is a member of the LGBTQ+ community and later specified that she identifies as queer and pansexual.

A month later, in February 2021, the revealed she was dating Kylie Prew. The couple split in November of the same year. JoJo Siwa also made history by becoming the first person to compete with a same-sex partner on USA’s Dancing With the Stars.