JoJo Siwa says she's the "happiest" she's "ever been" since coming out as part of the LGBT+ community.
She is pictured above at her Sweet 16 birthday party with guests (L-R) Ryan Romulus, North West, Penelope Disick and a friend in April 2019.
The 17-year-old dancer, singer, actress, and YouTube personality, born Joelle Joanie Siwa, has built a career around her public image of an ageless pre-teen wearing colorful hair bows and rainbow clothing.
Her catchy songs include "Boomerang" and "Kid in a Candy Store," and she appeared on "Dance Moms" for two seasons along with her mother, Jessalyn Siwa.
JoJo sparked rampant speculation when she began dropping hints on social media 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.
