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6 February 2020

Jameela Jamil comes out as queer following backlash to vogue show casting

“This is absolutely not how I wanted to come out."

By Will Stroude

Jameela Jamil has come out publicly as queer following backlash to her casting as a judge on a new series about the art of voguing.

The British actress opened up about her own sexuality on Twitter on Thursday (5 February), describing herself as “queer” but admitting: “This is absolutely not how I wanted to come out.”

In a post titled “Twitter is brutal”, Jamil wrote: “This is why I never officially came out as queer.

“I added a rainbow to my name a few years ago when I felt ready as it’s not easy within the south Asian community to be accepted, and I always answered honestly if I was ever straight-up asked about on Twitter.

“But I kept it low because I was scared of the pain of being accused of performatice bandwagon jumping over something that cause me a lot of confusion, fear and turmoil when I was a kid.

“It’s also scary as an actor to openly admit your sexuality, especially when you’re already a brown woman in her thirties.”

The star of The Good Place added: “I don’t want to read mean comments dismissing this. You can keep your thoughts.”

Jamil. 33, had faced criticism this week after it was announced she would appear as a judge alongside rapper Megan Thee Stallion and celebrity stylist Law Roach on HBO Max’s upcoming series Legendary, which will see eight ballroom Houses compete in dance and fashion challenges. 

Addressing the controversy in her coming out post, Jamila argued that despite not being involved in the ballrom scene herself, her public profile would help boost the show’s success and uplift all those involved in the series.

 
 
 
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@jameelajamilofficial has come out publicly as queer 🏳️‍🌈 . Following online backlash to her newly-announced judging role on #HBO’s upcoming voguing series #Legendary, the actress and body image activist has opened up about her sexuality on Twitter, admitting: “This is absolutely not how I wanted to come out.” . “I added a rainbow to my name a few years ago when I felt ready as it’s not easy within the south Asian community to be accepted”, Jameela writes. “But I kept it low because I was scared of the pain of being accused of performatice bandwagon jumping over something that cause me a lot of confusion, fear and turmoil when I was a kid. . “It’s also scary as an actor to openly admit your sexuality, especially when you’re already a brown woman in her thirties.” . The 33-year-old star of #TheGoodPlace adds: “I know being queer doesn’t qualify me as ballroom. But I have privilege and power and a large following to bring this show and its beautiful contestants and ballroom hosts. . “Sometimes it takes those with more power to help a show get off the ground so we can elevate marginalised stars that deserve the limelight and give them a chance.” . #jameelajamil #lgbt #lgbtpride #queer #sexuality #pride #gay #vogue #voguing #ballroom #jameela #comingout #tahanialjamil #thegoodplace

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“I know being queer doesn’t qualify me as ballroom. But I have privilege and power and a large following to bring this show (as does the absolutely iconic Megan Thee Stallion) and its beautiful contestants and ballroom hosts”, Jamil wrote.
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“Sometimes it takes those with more power to help a show get off the ground so we can elevate marginalised stars that deserve the limelight and give them a chance.”

She added: “I hope you don’t ler a few casting decisions designed to help get the show off the ground, stop you from supporting the talent from Ballroom on this show.

“They really are fucking amazing and I’m really honoured to work with them.”

Legendary will debut on HBO Max when the new streaming service makes its debut this spring.

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