Celebrities

JoJo Siwa cancels Pride show after saying she felt 'pressure' to label herself lesbian

"I kind of boxed myself in."

JoJo Siwa has pulled the pin on her appearance at a Pride festival in Chicago.

Siwa was scheduled to take the stage on 29 June at Back Lot Bash, a music festival set to coincide with Chicago's Pride weekend.

The 'Dance Moms' alum has yet to address disappointed fans herself, although the show's organisers blamed a "scheduling conflict" on her no-show.

The Pride cancellation comes after the former child star admitted last week that she felt pressured by past partners and the LGBTQ+ community to define herself as a lesbian.

"When I came out at 17, I said, 'I'm pansexual,' because I don't care," she told the Daily Mail.

But then I kind of boxed myself in and I said, 'I'm a lesbian.' And I think I did that because of pressure.

"Where did that pressure come from? In a weird way, I think it came a little bit from inside the community at times. From people I know, from partners I've had."

Siwa is now in a blossoming relationship with her 'Celebrity Big Brother UK' cast-mate Chris Hughes. Hughes, a British TV personality who found fame on 'Love Island', is the first man she's publicly dated since coming out in 2021.

This cancellation follows the postponement of Siwa's US tour dates. JoJo announced that news on her tour website last week.

"I've got some news that breaks my heart to share. My US tour has to be postponed. I promise I'll be back before you know it to perform for all the beautiful people in the US."