The new season of āDancing With the Starsā will feature the first same-sex partners, including social media personality JoJo Siwa.
According to CNN, Siwa will be dancing with an unidentified female pro. The announcement was made at a news conference Thursday during the Television Critics Association press tour.
āI am so excited to be a part of this yearās āDancing with the Starsā season 30. And to be dancing with a girl ā I think itās so cool!ā Siwa said.
She added, āItās going to be the best ever. I canāt wait to just dance every single week. I canāt wait to meet my partner. Oh my gosh, thereās so many things Iām so excited for.ā
GLAAD said in a statement, āAt 18, JoJo Siwa is once again using her platform to inspire and uplift the LGBTQ community⦠The show has such a wide, far-reaching audience and there is a real opportunity here for people to celebrate the same-sex pairing and root for JoJo and all LGBTQ young people.ā
According to Siwa, she was given the option to dance with a girl by the producers of the show.
āI said I actually would love and prefer to dance with a girl,ā Siwa said. āWhy not show the message even stronger that you can love whomever you want to love?ā
Acknowledging that there will likely be criticism, Siwa explained, āThereās going to be people who donāt like it, who think dancing on the show with another girl is wrong or weird.ā
She added, āI donāt need those people in my life. If itās wrong or weird to you, thatās OK, because thereās a billion other people who donāt think itās wrong or weird. Partnering with another girl will give other people around the world more courage to say, āItās OK that I love somebody of the same sex.'ā
