JoJo Siwa responded to her millions of followers on TikTok following online backlash after being accused of saying "lesbian" was a "dirty word" during an interview last week.
"I never said that lesbian was a dirty word and I never, ever would say that it’s a dirty word because it is not," Siwa said in response to a fan comment calling out the former "Dance Moms" star.
"It is not a bad word, it is not a slur, and it is especially not a word that I am ashamed of saying or ashamed of identifying as by any means."
Siwa explained she doesn't like "the sound" of the word as she sat in her room wearing a tie-dyed hooded sweatshirt while reading and responding to comments on the video sharing app.
"I don’t hate the word lesbian. … Whenever someone talks to me about my sexuality, I just say that I’m gay," she clarified. "It’s not the word that flows off the tongue for me, if that makes sense."
Siwa came out last year and has since been in an off-and-on relationship with girlfriend Kylie Crew.
During an interview with Unapologetically released last week, the 19-year-old YouTube star discussed her "gay icon" status.
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"It’s not about being comfortable with being the face of the LGBTQ young demographic, young age, youngling," she said. "It’s about being honored with that. It’s something that I've been appointed by, not myself, by just the world calling me a gay icon, calling me this generation's icon. That is an honor that I do not take lightly."
When the topic of being called a "lesbian" was discussed, Siwa said, "I don't like the word itself. It's just like a lot. But I mean, at the end of the day, that's what I am. ... It's like the word moist. It's just like ... ugh!"
Siwa was recently involved in another online clash, this time with "Full House" star Candace Cameron Bure after Siwa said Bure was a "rude" celebrity following an encounter from years ago.
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"It was at the after-party that she didn't want to take a picture with me, and I was OK with that," Siwa told Page Six. "But then I turned around, and when I looked back, she was taking pictures with other kids. And that's what made me really upset."
On Tuesday, Bure shared that there was "no drama" and they had a "great conversation" to patch up their relationship.
"At that time you were 11 and I broke your 11-year-old heart," the "Fuller House" actress said in a video shared on Instagram. "Especially as a mom it breaks my heart that I made you feel that way."
She added how important it is to be "mindful" of what's shared on TikTok and said, "Words matter and our actions matter. We all influence people around us."
