In the year since she came out publicly as gay, JoJo Siwa has made television history, prepped a long-awaited tour and spread a message of LGBTQ acceptance to a massive audience watching her. Now, she’s taking a moment to look back on her accomplishments.
In an Instagram post on Sunday (Jan. 23), Siwa shared a series of photos from her throughout her life, starting with the now-famous photo of her wearing a T-shirt that reads “Best. Gay. Cousin. Ever.,” which she used as her official coming out in 2021. Marking her one-year coming out anniversary, Siwa said, “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.”
Siwa wrote that she’s often asked about whether or not coming out was “scary,” which she says it was. But she adds that she knew that she had a responsibility to share her truth with her fans. “Anything that’s different about you is scary,” she said. “However… it’s what makes me… me. So I had no fear with sharing it with the world.”
Continuing, Siwa said that she knows that a lot of young kids look to her as a role model, which ultimately played a vital part in her public coming out process. “Truthfully I feel like I was put on this earth to be a role model for kids, and letting all the kids of the world know that loving everyone for who they are no matter what is something that I will always believe in and always share,” she said.
Finishing out her post, Siwa spoke directly to the young fans who follow her, asking them to always remember to love themselves. “Please never forget that no matter who you are, what you look like, who you LOVE that you are absolutely perfect,” she wrote. “Thank you for showing me the most love throughout this year and throughout my entire life. I love you all.”
In 2021, Siwa became the first contestant in Dancing With the Stars history to compete on the show in a same-sex pairing, alongside professional dancer Jenna Johnson. The pair made it all the way to the show’s finale, where they placed second behind NBA star Iman Shupert and his dancing partner Daniella Karagach.
Check out Siwa’s sweet Instagram post below:
