Jo Jo Siwa was Part of First-Ever Same-Gender Partners ‘Dancing with the Stars’

Teen sensation and LGBTQ icon Jo Jo Siwa will take the Dancing with the Stars stage by storm becoming one of the first-ever same-gender contestants. The popular, long-running dance competition is celebrating its 30th year, and now, it’s making queer history. 

“It’s really special that not only now do I get to share with the world that you get to love who you want to love, but also you get a dance with whom you want to dance.”

The 18-year-old dancing queen will be preparing choreographed routines with her partnered female professional dancer on the show to impress judges with their moves. 

Jo Jo says that her and her same-gender dance partner will spark questions that have yet to be raised on the show, and it will be giving other queers happiness to see this sort of representation. 

“Who leads; how do you dress; what shoes do you wear?” Siwa asks. “But I think it’s all something that I’m looking forward to. It’s going to be tricky, but it’s going to give so much to people out there—people of the LGBTQ community, people who feel just a little different. It’s going to give them a sense of happiness.”

However, Miss Siwa isn’t the first LGBTQ celeb to hit the Dancing with the Stars stage; she’s far from it. Notable celebrities who have appeared on the show in the past are stand-up comedian Margaret Cho and NSYNC’s Lance Bass, just to name a few.

With the previous resistance to same-gender pairs, no wonder the show was receiving criticism for its lack of representation. 

Last year, the president and CEO of GLAAD called on producers to make changes and allow same-gender partners compete. “It’s past time for same-sex couples to compete on Dancing With the Stars … prioritize creating a show where the diversity of their competition is fully inclusive and reflective of the U.S. population today,” says Sarah Kate Ellis 

However, that all changed when Siwa received an email from producers wondering if she wanted to be on the show and gave her the option to work with a woman or a man. Jo Jo of course chose to be partnered with a woman, explaining that she wants to make an example for her community. 

“I want to make everything OK for the people who come after me.”

Photo Courtesy of Jo Jo’s Twitter.