JoJo Siwa’s queer realisation on Celebrity Big Brother has nothing to do with Chris Hughes

In one of the most wholesome moments of this series, Celebrity Big Brother finalist JoJo Siwa rejoiced last night as she announced she no longer identifies as a lesbian.

Instead, she feels queer.

The exchange was between the 21-year-old TikTok star and Drag Race royalty Danny Beard, with JoJo thanking them for allowing that side of her to flourish while in the house.

Alas, as expected, there’s another person entirely whom viewers wish to bestow all the praise upon.

JoJo’s connection with Love Island alum Chris Hughes, 32, undeniably became this year’s biggest talking point following the removal of Mickey Rourke for his wildly offensive comments. Since then, each night, CBB fans haven’t been able to resist analysing their every move.

From cuddles to back rubs and hot tub antics, their playful and tactile friendship has raised eyebrows, with outsiders arguing she’s being ‘disrespectful’ to her partner back home and that Chris has ‘exploited’ JoJo’s vulnerability.

In contrast, however, for many fellow queer women, it’s just been rather nice to see a straight male create a safe space for her in a world where it’s ingrained in women-loving-women to fear for their safety around men.

But while Chris’s unflinching allyship will not go unnoticed nor unpraised by me — the way he chastised Mickey and rushed to comfort JoJo after his lesbophobic jibes will go down in Big Brother history — I refuse to make him responsible for JoJo’s own personal growth.

To suggest that Chris’s so-called ‘flirting’ is the reason why JoJo no longer wishes to label herself as a lesbian feeds into a deeply hurtful narrative. It suggests that lesbianism is only ever a stepping stone to bisexuality or other identities involving male attraction.

This is exactly why lesbians watched through tears two weeks ago when Mickey, 72, told JoJo she ‘won’t be gay anymore’ if he stayed in the house. 

Not only does it invalidate JoJo’s lesbianism and the attachment she clearly felt to that term previously (JoJo said in 2022 that’s how she identified), but it implies that all it takes is for the right man to flick a switch and bam, a woman’s eyes have been opened and the lightbulb has lit up — she likes men, of course she does.

That’s not the case, though.

Time and time again, as a lesbian myself, I have been told that I simply just ‘haven’t met the right man yet,’ which are words I’d never expect to hear uttered to a gay man about not liking women.

But in a world where fancying men is practically treated as the norm and my gayness is treated like a wall to break down, I’ve had to get used to it. (Side note: No one has said boo about Danny and Donna’s equally tactile relationship, because no one assumes Danny could be ‘swayed’ in the same way they do queer women).

That’s why my heart broke as I opened X and saw just how many people had decided Chris had ‘turned’ JoJo. Instead, I wish we could focus on her and the inner journey she’s been on to reach this point.

Merely existing as an LGBTQ+ person is far from easy. Our rights are under constant threat, our safe places are destroyed, and politicians do not hesitate to propose laws endangering our healthcare.

So when you add into the mix growing up on television and now possessing 45million TikTok followers, JoJo Siwa’s life has been lived under a microscope — and I repeat, she’s still only 21.

Therefore, to have such a powerful revelation about her sexuality and to share it with the nation like she did made me emotional. It was proof of the self-exploration she’s done over the past three weeks and how being inside the CBB house has helped quieten the noise she’s been surrounded by every day since childhood.

It represented a poignant discovery of who she truly is, and the bravery it took to speak about it openly cannot be understated.

We need to bow down to JoJo for this, not Chris, whom the Karma hitmaker has never once explicitly said she fancies.

In fact, ahead of her somewhat ‘coming out’ last night, JoJo told Donna Preston that while she and Chris will ‘still be in each other’s lives’ once CBB ends on Friday, they have simply been ‘filling a gap’.

‘What is he gonna do without you?’, the comedian asked, to which JoJo replied: ‘We both have other people in our lives, though, that fill this gap. I think I fill his friends, his family, and I think, for me, he’s filled the gap of my mum, my dad, my brother.’

We must also recognise the significance of queer alliances within the walls of the Celebrity Big Brother house, with JoJo unashamedly letting Danny know: ‘Do you know what being around you has made me feel? It’s made me feel so queer, and I’ve always been afraid of feeling queer.’

They’re two people from very different walks of life, but this unique experience has brought them together, and I’m so glad Danny has been a sounding board for JoJo.

While they haven’t always seen eye to eye, none of that has been important when it comes to matters like this. When a queer person tells you they have your back, it’s often unconditional, and it’s for life.

That’s not to say I agree with how JoJo went about the conversation, and I understand why many lesbians feel she’s essentially put a middle finger up to the community by declaring, ‘F**k the L! I’m going to the Q.’

I understand why people believe this portrays lesbianism as a ‘phase’ and something to ‘experiment’ with. But I have bucketloads of grace for JoJo because, as Danny so rightly said, we’re not living in a world that’s designed for us.

Her sexuality is still being navigated by her, as is her gender, after admitting in the house that she also feels non-binary. 

I imagine she still has a way to go before being able to comfortably categorise herself. Maybe she never will, because sexuality and gender are so beautifully fluid.

I’m just happy the CBB experience was able to give this gift to her, and I’m excited for her journey to continue once she leaves.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

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