JoJo Siwa is facing intense backlash from fans after confirming her romantic relationship with Chris Hughes at the start of Pride Month.
Many are accusing the star of hypocrisy, given her previous embrace of her queer identity and "gay pop" persona, which has led to widespread criticism that the timing of her announcement was "out of place."
Are JoJo Siwa and Chris Hughes Officially Together?
After weeks of headlining whether or not the Dance Moms alum JoJo Siwa and former Love Island star Chris Hughes are dating, both sides said yes.
As Chris's intimate photo with the Karma singer went viral on his Snapchat, JoJo confirmed on Monday, June 2, that "it's not platonic anymore" between the two of them.
The couple initially met on Celebrity Big Brother UK, where Chris defended JoJo from homophobic slurs she received from Sin City actor Mickey Rourke.
At the time, JoJo identified as a lesbian and was dating Australian actor Kath Ebbs, who identifies as non-binary. However, lines began to blur when JoJo later on declared she identified as Queer on the show.
What makes this timeline messy and scandalous is the fact that not long after, JoJo dumped Kath at the wrap party for CBB UK; this followed rumors surrounding JoJo's growing closeness with Chris, which has now been confirmed to be true.
"It's not platonic anymore," JoJo confirmed on The Guardian, "and it's been a beautiful development, a beautiful connection, and I'm absolutely head over heels for him and he's the same way."
While some fans wish their relationship a prosperous one, others couldn't help but feel as though the entire story is quite tone-deaf for the LGBTQ+ community and in Pride Month, at that.
"I won't ever speak for him, but for me personally, the happiness in my life just radiates off of me right now," JoJo continued, "Literally yesterday, I was massaging my cheeks; I've never [before] been in pain from smiling so much."
Why is the Internet Pissed Off at JoJo's Relationship Reveal?
It's not the relationship, it's the history of how their romance began. As fans pointed out, they don't care what JoJo identifies as, but it's the people she has hurt along the way.
This not only includes her ex-partner Kath, but even the LGBTQ+ community who had been rooting for her to win against homophobic attacks at the CBB UK.
"IDGAF that she's bisexual now, the weird thing is how she literally cheated on her gf on live TV. That's disgusting to me, idk," one fan posted, "And doing it RIGHT after a man said he can 'fix' you being a lesbian. I get second-hand embarrassment."
The man in question here was Rourke, when he suggested he could "fix" JoJo from her sexual identity as a lesbian while on the show.
On top of it all, the news came right after Chris publicly shared an intimate, vulnerable moment with his now-girlfriend, which others took as quite off-putting to post on social media.
Other fans preferred making a joke out of it, considering how (un)timely the big reveal is about her next publicly declared relationship with a cis-man.
Apart from the sexual orientation switch, fans couldn't help but get the ick from comparing the age gap difference of 22-year-old Siwa versus 32-year-old Hughes:
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