JoJo Siwa was the victim of a “swatting” incident at her Los Angeles home, just days after she announced she was part of the LGBT+ community.
The 17-year-old singer, dancer and YouTube star was at home when police cars arrived outside her house in response to a hoax 911 call.
Swatting is a crime punishable by jail time and/or a fine for calling police to someone’s home under the pretense that the homeowner is being held hostage.
Video shot by TRQFFIC shows the teenager smiling outside her mansion on a rainy day while police cars and a firetruck surround her home.
JoJo sparked speculation online when she began dropping hints that suggested she was planning to come out of the closet – including wearing a “best gay cousin ever” T-shirt and lip-syncing along to Lady Gaga’s hit song “Born This Way.”
On Saturday, Jan. 23, she went live on Instagram to tell her pre-teen fans:
“Personally, I have never, ever, ever been this happy before and it feels really awesome. I’ve been happy for a little bit now. It’s just so, so, so awesome. You guys probably haven’t seen me this happy since I was on tour.”
JoJo stopped short of giving herself a label, instead identifying as simply “part of” the LGTB+ community.
“The reason I’m not going to say this answer is because I don’t really know this answer. I think humans are awesome, I think humans are really incredible people,” she explained. “Right now, I’m super-duper happy and I want to share everything with the world, but I also want to keep things in my life private until they are ready to be public.”
Parents of JoJo’s adolescent fans were skeptical about her coming out party. Many believe she is simply hopping on the LGBT+ bandwagon because her career as an adolescent singer and dancer is fading fast.
