JoJo Siwa is celebrating her two-year anniversary of coming out as a member of the LGBTQ community.
Siwa reflected on the moment in a post on Instagram, re-sharing a picture she had posted two years prior on Jan. 22, 2021 when she came out publicly on social media. In the photo, Siwa posed in a black shirt that read in all caps, “Best. Gay. Cousin. Ever.”
“2 years ago today,” she wrote, adding several heart emojis to create a rainbow. “now looking back on everything…. I’m SO proud of 17 year old JoJo.”
In January 2022, Siwa shared the same photo on Instagram to mark her one-year anniversary of coming out. The post also included several other photos from the previous year, including her own cover page of People magazine as well as a photo from when she competed on “Dancing with the Stars," which marked the first time a same-sex couple competed on the show.
Siwa reflected on the year in the caption, writing in part, "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 added. “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 19-year-old said at the time that she felt like she was “put on this earth to be a role model for kids” and that it was important to let her fans know “that loving everyone for who they are no matter what is something that I will always believe in and always share.”
Two days before Siwa publicly came out, fans speculated on social media after she shared a video on TikTok lip syncing to Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way" on Jan. 20, 2021.
Days later, Siwa opened up on an Instagram Live and shared her gratitude for all of the love and support she received from her fans since she officially—and unofficially—shared the news.
“For the last 48 hours... 72 hours, I have gotten the most endless amount of love and support,” she said. “I am really, really, I’m really happy. Now that the world gets to see this side of my life... it makes me really, really, really happy. I have been happy in this land for a minute now and now that I get to share that with the world now, it’s just... it’s awesome.”
The former “Dance Moms” star spoke about her coming out journey and what she's learned throughout with TODAY in September 2021. The young star said she was able to realize "how much I love love," adding, “How much I love feeling it, how much I love just like having that version of love in my life.”
She also acknowledged that she understands that people can be “scared of coming out,” but there’s no rush or timeline to figure it out.
“You just have to know when it’s right for you and if it doesn’t feel right for you, just wait,” she said. “You know there’s no rush. It’s you, and you’re going to do what you want to do and you get to celebrate being a part of the LGBT community as you wish, but I don’t think it’s a rush. When you’re ready to be open about it, you’ll know who your people are.”