Entertainment
TikToker Olivia Ponton confirms she’s bisexual after Jojo Siwa inspired her to come out: ‘She’s such a big role model’
TikToker Olivia Ponton has confirmed she identifies as bisexual, following months of speculation about her romance with girlfriend Kaila Novak.
The Hype House member made the announcement in a candid interview with Teen Vogue as she stated: ‘I want to announce that I’m bisexual, and I’m now proud to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community.’
The 17-year-old also explained how watching fellow star Jojo Siwa open up about her sexuality inspired her to do the same.
Speaking to the publication, she continued: ‘I saw that and thought “Wow, that’s really amazing for young children now because she’s such a big role model.”
‘And she’s really become almost a role model for me to look up to as well.’
The star – who boasts over 2million followers on Instagram added: ‘I want to let young girls know that it’s okay to not even know your sexuality until you’re older. I think it should be more normalized to come out [when you’re ready for it].’
Indeed, Olivia first got the rumor mill started in March after she first posted a TikTok which appeared to hint at sexuality.
She then followed the post up with numerous videos of herself and Kalia looking every inch the cozy couple but chose not to comment on fan specualation.
Her lack of comments led to some unfortunate controversy as one TikTok use tried to label her relationship as a fake ploy to ‘get clout’ and boost fame for Kaila’s younger sister.
Olivia was quick to shut down the rumor as she stated: ‘Kaila and I have a very strong bond and we have a lot of trust in each other, so it really didn’t affect us that hard.
‘But it hurts both of us because we know how much we love each other. We know we have such an [intense] bond, so it really hurt me to see her getting literally attacked over this.’
She explained that she had chosen to speak out in order to bring to light the difficulties of navigating public stardom with personal discovery.
‘[I hope people become] very open-minded about every situation,’ she explained. ‘You never know what really anyone’s going through in their own brain, even if they’re not talking about it on social media or what not.’
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