JoJo Siwa is reminiscing about her coming out journey.
The former Nickelodeon star recently participated in the "One Thing About Me" TikTok trend, where she shared her "gay awakening story," during which she recalled how Demi Lovato's 2015 hit song "Cool for the Summer"—a seductive anthem about wanting a summer fling with another woman—made a big impression on her when she was 12.
"I really, really liked it and listened to it all the time," JoJo said in the Oct. 5 video. "I did not know what it meant back then but now that I'm much older and I understand, I know what it means."
The Dance Moms alum then fast-forwarded to the second moment in her "gay awakening." The 19-year-old noted, "Then a few years later, Jenna Dewan went on Lip Sync Battle. She did a really great Magic Mike number. I pretty much watched it every day. Little me, she didn't know she was gay, until..."
JoJo then recalled a personal experience that led her to reach a conclusion about her sexuality. "A couple years later, a man was my first date and he wanted to have sex with me and I did not want to—never wanted to, grossed out by the thought of it," she continued. "Immediately knew men are not my thing. Women are my gig. Gotta go."
JoJo came out as gay, on social media, in January 2021. Six months later, she spoke about her coming out journey with Lovato on the pop star's YouTube interview series 4D With Demi Lovato, where she reflected on those moments.
"I think i realized that my very first gay awakening was Jenna Dewan's performance on Lip Sync Battle," she said. "I think that was one of them. But then, do you remember your dancer, her name is JoJo Gomez and you did 'Cool for the Summer' together. I remember seeing that and just being a little too interested."
Demi, who came out as non-binary in 2021, responded, "I didn't come out until like 2017. But 'Cool for the Summer' was like, 2014, 2015, so that, to me, it was my way of saying I'm not ready to come out."
JoJo added, "But like, I want to share this but I don't know how yet."
Weeks after JoJo came out, she went on to go public with her relationship with Kylie Prew. The two dated on and off until this past August. A month later, JoJo confirmed on TikTok she's dating Avery Cyrus, and they later made their red carpet debut as a couple.