“It was completely overwhelming. The sequence of events was insane.”
Jameela Jamil has broken her silence after coming out as queer.
The television presenter and actress told her followers over Twitter on 5 February that she identifies as a member of the LGBTQ community, following widespread backlash over her role on HBO Max’s upcoming vogeuing series, Legendary.
It was reported that Jameela would be a judge – with HBO’s official press release stating that she would also be the MC – with many arguing that her position should have gone to a transgender person or someone connected to the ballroom scene.
Shortly after the backlash, she wrote: “Twitter is brutal. This is why I never officially came out as queer.
“I know that my being queer doesn’t qualifty me as ballroom. But I have privilege and power and a large following to bring to this show (as does the absolutely iconic Megan Thee Stallion) and it’s beautiful contestants and hosts.”
Jameela was then subject to even more backlash, with many saying her queerness still doesn’t make her qualified to judge on the series. She has now released a second statement about the “perfect clusterfuck of last week”.
“It was completely overwhelming,” she wrote. “The sequence of events was insane, a misunderstanding was left uncorrected for too long, and misinformation spread too far, too fast, then my timing was bad, and in a moment of distress and pain, personal things were blurted out because when you have a secret for decades and you’re traumatized, it always feels like it might just fucking burst out of you at any given moment, even the most inappropriate and unfortunate ones.”
Jameela admitted that she chose the “most inappropriate and unfortunate time” to come out, and tried to make fans feel better by saying they never have to feel embarrassed about their own journey because she has “PEAKED FOR ALL OF US!”
She continued to thank her fans and followers for “the thousands of messages of kindness and deeply personal letters from strangers and people I know, coming out to me privately,” saying she doesn’t take it “lightly”.
“Do it whenever you feel the time is right, as long as you think you’ll be safe. Don’t feel bad for hiding it for as long as you need, and move at your own pace,” she added. “But feel no shame about getting it off your chest and know you aren’t alone.
“There is a huge community of people who understand you, respect you and stand with you. On we go, hoping this week will be calmer than the last, and sending everyone the most love. Jam.”
Read Jameela Jamil’s full post below.
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