Jameela Jamil comes out as queer on Twitter
The Good Place actress Jameela Jamil has come out as queer on Twitter.
The 33-year-old British star told her one million followers she had previously kept silent about her sexuality as she feared she would be accused of jumping on the bandwagon.
Queer is an umbrella term that can include anyone within the LGBTQ+ spectrum who does not identify as heterosexual or cisgender.
Jamil’s announcement came after she was appointed as a judge on a new TV series about voguing.
New HBO show Legendary will draw on ballroom culture, with “divas” battling it out in various fashion and dance challenges.
The star had tweeted: “I’m *so* excited to be a tiny part of bringing ballroom further into the mainstream where it belongs. I’m here to celebrate some of the coolest, most talented people on the planet who deserve centre stage.”
Some had questioned whether Jamil was suitable to serve as a judge because she wasn’t a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
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That prompted the actress to defend herself in a post entitled “Twitter is brutal”, where she wrote: “This is why I never officially came out as queer.
“I added a rainbow to my name when I felt ready a few years ago, as it’s not easy within the South Asian community to be accepted, and I always answered honestly if ever straight-up asked about it on Twitter.
“But I kept it low because I was scared of the pain of being accused of performative bandwagon jumping, over something that caused me a lot of confusion, fear and turmoil when I was a kid.”
✌🏽 pic.twitter.com/YcB6H7YCT0
— Jameela Jamil 🌈 (@jameelajamil) February 5, 2020
Jamil also said her career and family history had played a part in keeping quiet about her feelings for so long, writing: “I didn’t come from a family with *anyone* openly out. It’s also scary as an actor to openly admit your sexuality, especially when you’re already a brown female in your 30s.
“This is absolutely not how I wanted it to come out. I’m jumping off this hell app for a while because I don’t want to read mean comments dismissing this. You can keep your thoughts.”
Jamil has been dating British singer and songwriter James Blake since 2015.
She also corrected initial reports that she would be MCing on the show writing: “I’m not the MC. I’m not the main host. I’m just a lead judge due to my 11 years of hosting experience, being fully impartial, a newcomer to ballroom (like much of the audience will be) and therefore a window in for people who are just discovering it now, and being a long-time ally of the LGBTQ community.”
Other judges on Legendary, which is produced by the same team as Queer Eye, include rapper Megan Thee Stallion, stylist Law Roach and dancer Leiomy Maldonado.
Pose actor Dashaun Wesley will also MC alongside DJ Mike Q.
It follows in the footsteps of shows including FX drama Pose and RuPaul’s Drag Race, both of which have achieved recent mainstream success.
The 10-part series is set to launch later this year.
