Jojo Siwa Reacts to Being Called a ‘Gay Icon’ Amid ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Run

Internet personality Jojo Siwa is currently enjoying her time on Dancing with the Stars, and her groundbreaking turn on the show as the first contestant to have a same-sex dance partner, Jenna Johnson, has people talking. The 18-year-old, who came out in January, stopped by The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Thursday and was asked how she felt about being a “gay icon.”

“It’s wild to me. I look at people who are called gay icons – you, Lady Gaga, Freddie Mercury – my favorite people. And to be in that category at 18 is just insane, and it’s just because of who I am. It feels amazing,” she told DeGeneres. Siwa also explained the energy that she tries to bring to her live shows. “Think of it as like 4-year-olds and gay 19-year-olds,” she explained. “It’s like Kidz Bop meets Pride fest. That’s my concert.”

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Ultimately, Siwa is happy that she can be an example for other kids who are figuring out their sexuality. “Hearing adults say, ‘I wish I had someone like you when I was little,’ that makes me know that the kids that are little have someone like me,” she concluded.

Siwa recently broke up with her girlfriend Kylie Prew after dating for less than a year. Siwa confirmed on an episode of Paris Hilton’s podcast, This Is Paris. “I have yet to talk about this officially, publicly, but we broke up,” Siwa said before explaining that they’re still friends. “[Kylie] is still my best friend. I talked to her yesterday, she just got a new puppy. She’s awesome. She’s having the time of her life, I’m having the time of my life,” Siwa said. “I’m really lucky that I didn’t lose her completely because, you know, even though relationships end, friendships don’t have to end… I didn’t know could happen.”

“I was very happy that it can be, because that’s all I wanted,” she said. “But I’m really happy that I remember all the fun times, all the good times, and nothing bad happened. It just is the definition of a cheesy saying of ‘right person, wrong time’ and I hate cheesy sayings but they’re true.”