JoJo Siwa clarifies her sexuality as she hits back at critics of Chris Hughes romance

Former Celebrity Big Brother housemate JoJo Siwa has spoken about her sexuality amid her relationship with Chris Hughes. She's addressed the "extreme amount of hate" that her romance with the Love Island star has attracted.

JoJo, 22, announced she was pansexual when she was a teenager and has since said that she then "boxed" herself in by identifying as a lesbian. More recently, she's described herself as queer and she is currently in a relationship with Chris, 32, after meeting in the Big Brother house in April.

The singer has said that she's received an "extreme amount of hate" from "within the community" over the relationship, adding that people now believe that she is straight. JoJo addressed the situation on a radio show recently.

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Speaking on SiriusXM's Smith Sisters Live, JoJo said: "Just because I'm in a hetero relationship does not mean I'm straight. And okay, just say all of a sudden I said 'yeah, I'm straight'. Awesome." She added: "Beautiful. I'm still an ally then."

JoJo went on to say: "I'm not straight." She continued: "I mean, I'm in love with a man." Before referencing previous relationships, she said in the discussion on the show: "But my past doesn't get to be discredited though because of that."

She said: "The first time I ever fell in love with somebody was with a woman." JoJo said she was her "best friend" and that they had an "incredible" relationship, before adding: "I've obviously been in a relationship with other women and non-binary person and now I'm with a man."

Discussing her relationship with Chris, JoJo said: "I've never experienced a love like his." She added: "The best thing that's ever happened to me is falling in love with him."

In an episode released earlier this month, JoJo spoke about her sexuality and reaction to her latest relationship on the podcast. She said: "It is hard because it feels like my own family has turned a little bit."

JoJo continued on the podcast: "I think that we are the LGBTQIA+ family, not the LG community, and I think that it's a beautiful rainbow and the number one saying of the queer community is 'love is love'. And that goes both ways."

She later added: "I now get to be an example of somebody who is in the queer community that's in a heterosexual relationship." JoJo added: "Just because you're in a heterosexual relationship, that doesn't discredit my past."

Asked how she would "define herself now," she said: "Honest, I would define myself as happy. Some people now call me straight, okay. Fair play, I am in a heterosexual relationship. I'm so deeply in love with a man. I can't even control it myself."

She continued: "I would probably just say queer. I think that's a beautiful umbrella term and it gives flexibility. It gives fluid. I think that pansexual obviously is exactly what I feel. I think some people would also just say bisexual."

Suggesting that she no longer focuses on labels, she went on to say whilst answering the same question during the episode: "I don't get hung up on that. I think that I was and I felt like I needed to be and it's just exhausting."

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