First, it was the Jojo Siwa dating Christ Hughes that sent the internet spiralling and literally sent Miley Cyrus into a pantry in search of a good joke about the whole thing (she didn’t find one).
View this post on Instagram
In a recent post to Instagram, even Siwa, a long-time fan of Cyrus, admitted to feeling a little hurt by the “bad joke”, which implied Siwa had gone “back into the closet”. Sigh. Siwa seems to have brushed things off, though, saying that it was “all love. Always” between her and Cyrus, after speaking with her directly.
Jojo Siwa and Chris Hughes first began monopolising our attention after coupling up upon leaving the Big Brother house. From the moment the two got a little too close for comfort, people have been side-eyeing them both. This has mainly had to do with fans feeling that Siwa was treading a dangerous line between flirty banter and cheating. Hughes, on the other hand, who is a decade older than Siwa, has skipped off scot-free.
First came the intimate conversations, then came the cuddling. Meanwhile, Siwa’s now-ex Kath Ebbs slammed fellow housemate Micky Rourke for his homophobic remarks to Siwa. Alas, their relationship was not to last, and Siwa broke up with Ebbs after leaving the Big Brother house.
Siwa would later announce that she wasn’t, in fact, a lesbian as she had originally felt to be. But instead told fans “I feel so queer” and that she was dropping the ‘L’ and going for the ‘Q’ instead.
Now, the relationship has officially been confirmed, with Siwa confirming that she is “head over heels” for Hughes in a recent interview for The Guardian.
But while she is happily diving into a new relationship, Siwa’s audience is anything but content: some going as far to claim she’s turned “straight” and others arguing that she’s “damaging” the queer community.
View this post on Instagram
But this isn’t the first time Siwa has faced criticism and rejection from within the LGBTQIA+ community.
Siwa is constantly rejected by the community she belongs to
Siwa is no stranger to critique. One minute she’s being lauded for her iconic status as one half of the first same-sex couple to make it onto Dancing with the Stars, the next people are dunking on her slightly tragic 21st birthday celebrations. She’s either doing gay wrong enough for millions of people to review bomb her first solo song, or being criticised for her ‘pick me’ behaviour.
While no one should escape criticism, the level of hate Siwa has recieved as a young, queer person figuring themselves out on a global stage seems somewhat…well, shitty.
Queer imposter syndrome and wanting to belong
Queer, gender-non conforming folks, trans, bi and pansexual people know a little something about feeling ostrocised by the LGBTQIA+ community. Discrimination from inside the community can look like biphobia, transphobia and many other marginalising behaviours that result in real harm being perpetuated against groups of people who don’t conform to binary ways of being.
As a bisexual person in a hetero-presenting relationship myself, I know just how hard it can be to feel as though you can and should take up space in LGBTQIA+ spaces. We’d do well to remember that perpetuating biphobia or discrimination of any kind leads to people feeling as though they aren’t enough.
What’s more, we should all be mindful of is that sexuality isn’t a linear experience for many people, who will undoubtedly go on many journeys of discovery as they grow and develop into themselves.
Nobody knows who they are at 22. Give Siwa a break.
Billie Eilish and Fletcher are the latest to experience biphobic backlash
But the hits just keep on coming for queer and bi celebs in relationships with men. Billie Eilish was spotted smooching on a balcony with her new beau, Nat Wolff, and people lost their minds.
They must have, to make comments on her sexuality after she explicitly told Vogue in 2024 that she wished “no one knew anything about my sexuality or anything about my dating life. Ever, ever, ever.”
Now, Fletcher is dating a man, and people are flooding her social media announcement with comments like, “on Pride month?!” and “Well, good luck, babe!” in response to the news.
Bisexual and queer people in hetero presenting relationships are still bisexual. Worth remembering x
