JoJo Siwa Reflects on Her Coming Out Experience at 17: 'I Did Lose a Lot’

JoJo Siwa is opening up about her coming out experience at 17.

During the debut episode of her new iHeartMedia podcast JoJo Siwa Now, which was released on Monday and is about Siwa's past meeting her future, the Dance Moms alum, 20, reflected on coming out as LGBTQ at 17 and how much changed as a result of it.

It "meant a lot" to Siwa to be cast on Dancing with the Stars as part of the first-ever same-sex couple in 2021, but it was a "massive life-changer" — also because she had come out herself the same year.

"I came out when I was 17 but I didn't understand at the time what a big deal that was. I didn't understand why that was scary," she said of revealing her sexuality.

Siwa continued: "I remember I was on the phone with my girlfriend at the time and I was like, 'I think I want to come out to the world,' and she was like, 'OK, do it.'" So then I posted this picture and threw it on my Instagram Story, and that's how I confirmed it."

Regardless of the response, Siwa "didn't think twice about it."

"Of course there was a lot of positivity and love and acceptance but then there was a lot of negativity, and I did lose a lot," she said of the experience. "I didn't care, and I still don't care [about] the things I lost and the people that I lost and if I lost a chunk of fans...because it's who I am."

The Special Forces star added: "I created my career off of being genuine and if you didn't like me because on January whatever I was straight and January the next day I was gay, then you're not meant to like me anyways. I just try to really, really be genuine, really be who I am."

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Siwa recently opened up to PEOPLE about her experience boot camp training on season 2 of Special Forces and how she got her costars Nick Viall and Tyler Cameron in line.

"I was psycho. I would stand at the door and be like, 'Nick, your bottom left button. Tyler, your right shoe. Phone... Not phone. Instead of phone, wallet, keys, you say hat, gloves, armband. Your zipper's undone. Your button's undone. Everyone, we're wearing this, this and that,'" she recalled during a Los Angeles press event for the show.

But Siwa was ultimately thrilled to have the pair by her side.

"I'm lucky that I had Nick there and I'm lucky that I had Tyler there and Bode [Miller] and we all got super close, but definitely Nick and Tyler is who I was like, 'Thank God I have these people here. Because if I didn't have y'all, nah,'" she added.