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  • -My next guest is a dancer, singer, actress,

  • and social-media superstar.

  • I mean, seriously superstar.

  • She has 32 million followers on TikTok

  • and over 12 million subscribers on her YouTube channel.

  • She works hard. She deserves it.

  • She's currently working on a new project

  • that she is announcing tonight.

  • I can't wait. Here is Jojo Siwa!

  • -Hey! I'm so excited!

  • Thank you for having me. -Welcome back.

  • Thanks for being here.

  • I know it's over zoom, but we appreciate it.

  • We have so much to talk about. -We do.

  • -One of the things I love about you

  • and your fans love about you is that you are always yourself.

  • You're always you. -Yes.

  • -And you're always leading by example

  • and spreading positivity, very positive.

  • -Thank you. -And you continue to do that

  • now more than ever. Two weeks ago, you posted this.

  • You opened up about being part of the LGBTQ community,

  • and immediately, love started pouring in

  • from all over the world. How does it feel?

  • Where were you in your head at the time?

  • -It was the most insane thing ever.

  • I mean, literally everyone and their brother messaged me,

  • called me, texted me, sent me an Instagram message, tweeted me.

  • It was the most love, I think, I've ever received,

  • and the coolest thing about it was it was just by me

  • showing the world the last little piece of me

  • that they haven't seen yet, and it was really awesome.

  • -Did you plan on doing it?

  • -So, that's actually what's funny about it.

  • So, I was doing TikToks with the people

  • who are in the Pride House.

  • That's, like, what their TikTok house is called,

  • is the Pride House. And I love them.

  • I've known them all for years, and so we were like,

  • "Let's just do some TikToks together

  • before I leave for Canada." And they come over,

  • and we're doing this TikTok, and I was like,

  • "I think this TikTok that we're doing to 'Ain't It Fun,'"

  • I was like, "I think this is gonna out me."

  • And I was like, "I don't really mind, because it is true."

  • I do have the most amazing, wonderful, perfect

  • most beautiful girlfriend in the whole world.

  • It's not something I'm ashamed of.

  • I just haven't shown the Internet yet.

  • And there's always been speculations, of course,

  • but so then I was like, "I think this is gonna out me."

  • So then I posted that -- they posted that,

  • and, of course, it did, and people started commenting --

  • and people started commenting to me, "Is this you coming out?

  • Like, is this you coming out? What is this? What is this?"

  • So I was like, "You know what I can do?

  • I can either mess with them and, like, tease a little bit,

  • I could either confirm it, because it is true,

  • or I can just kind of do nothing about it

  • and just kind of leave it there."

  • And I was like, "I want to do a TikTok to 'Born This Way.'"

  • 'Cause it is true. I don't really want to be like,

  • "Yeah, it's true," right away, but I was like,

  • "I want people to know that, like, it's okay."

  • So I did this TikTok to "Born This Way,"

  • and everyone was like, "Whoa! This is her coming out!

  • This is her coming out! This is the moment!"

  • And I was like, "I..."

  • And then, my cousin had gotten me that shirt.

  • I took that picture like a week before

  • I posted it, and I actually -- I put it on

  • my close friend's Instagram story,

  • and all my friends know, all my family knows.

  • And then, one day, I was on FaceTime with my girlfriend.

  • This is the day after I posted the "Born This Way" TikTok.

  • And I was on FaceTime with her, and we were just

  • talking about it and talking about all the love

  • that came in, and we were both like,

  • "Technically, I still haven't confirmed it."

  • And so I was like, "I kind of want to post

  • this picture on my real story."

  • And she was super encouraging. She was like, "Do it."

  • and I was like, "All right!" And I did it.

  • And the funny thing is, is 10 minutes before I did that,

  • you can only imagine the press storm that was happening.

  • I mean, it was insane. -Yeah.

  • And 10 minutes before I posted that, my publicist was like,

  • "So, are you gonna confirm it?" and I was like,

  • "No, I'm not gonna confirm it yet."

  • 10 minutes later, I post that picture and start texting her.

  • I was like, "Hey. So about not confirming it,

  • go look at my story." -"It's out."

  • Did you -- Did you -- Did you put your phone down?

  • Because you probably go like...

  • Either way, you're gonna get feedback.

  • You're gonna get good stuff, and you're gonna get bad stuff.

  • -Totally. -And you know it's gonna

  • start a conversation. -Yeah.

  • -And you're like, "Once I press this button..."

  • -There's no going back. -Yes.

  • -My thing with "coming out" is

  • it can be a very scary thing, you know?

  • Of course not everybody in the world is going to

  • accept it right now, but there are so many people

  • that are going to accept it right now.

  • And like I say, even if there's a million people --

  • say there's a million people -- that's a lot of people

  • that don't accept it, there's 100 million that do.

  • And I think that's something really important.

  • 100 million is a lot of people, and so always keep that in mind.

  • But, also, I was like, "I don't want it to have to be

  • such a big thing." Like, what am I gonna do?

  • Like, have a coming-out party? No, it's just who I am.

  • And so, after I posted it, I was just kind of like,

  • "All right! I'll do it." Like, I was on the phone spontaneous,

  • like, 'cause she -- we're long-distance,

  • and so I was like, "All right, I did it."

  • Back to FaceTiming with her. And then it was like

  • two days later, I was again on the phone.

  • We're on the phone literally 24/7.

  • Both of our families get so annoyed at us, but it's okay.

  • It doesn't matter. But I was like,

  • "You know what I realized? How risky that was."

  • And she was like, "Well, what do you mean?"

  • And I was like, "Well, technically,

  • that was a really big risk that I took posting that."

  • But I was like, "But honestly --"

  • And she's like, "Why? Because you could've lost everything?"

  • And I was like, "Yeah. But if I lost everything

  • that I've created because of being myself

  • and because of loving who I want to love,

  • I don't want it. That's not what I want

  • if I can't love who I want to love."

  • That's one of the most important things to me.

  • And it was about 10 minutes before I came out

  • to do this interview today, I was again on the phone

  • with my girl, and I started crying.

  • And she's like, "What's wrong with you?"

  • And I was like, "I'm just so happy."

  • I was like, "Because now I get to share

  • what makes me the happiest with the world,

  • and it makes my heart so happy."

  • -There's a lot to be happy about.

  • I want to congratulate you, because you were named

  • one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2020.

  • Now, you are 17 years old

  • and one of the most influential people on the planet.

  • -Crazy. -How does it feel,

  • and do you feel different? -Isn't that crazy?

  • I mean, it is insane.

  • I don't feel different. I mean, nothing changed,

  • but I guess I didn't really realize what a big deal it was

  • until I actually saw the list

  • and saw the other people that were on it,

  • and then I was like, "Whoa. Like, this is a huge honor."

  • And, I mean, it's insane,

  • and I'm so thankful, and I'm so grateful.

  • Actually, something funny that came from it is,

  • we created a new game in my family and my close friends.

  • So, my best friend, Nate, we made a game

  • where I try to influence people to do something.

  • And it's the smallest things.

  • So, say we have a whole bunch of pizzas, and I'll be like,

  • to somebody, I'll be like, "Oh, my gosh.

  • Yeah, the cheese is good, but the pepperoni,

  • you gotta try the pepperoni."

  • And if I get them to do it, Nate and I look at each other,

  • and we're like, "Time 100, baby!

  • Up top!" -"That's how influential I am.

  • Look at how influential -- He doesn't even like pepperoni."

  • -We try. We try so hard, and it works.

  • And it's -- well, all the time, we're like, "Top 100, baby.