JoJo Siwa and her Dancing With the Stars partner make history as show's first same-sex couple
JoJo Siwa has definitely made a mark on ABC's Dancing With the Stars, and she's only had one dance so far on the 30th season.
The 18-year-old performer and Dance Moms alum debuted alongside her professional partner Jenna Johnson, 27, making them the first same-sex couple ever on the U.S. version of the show.
"This is a whole new ball game for me," Siwa said on Monday's episode. "I've never done anything ballroom before. It's a learning experience that I'm more than ready for."
Siwa and Johnson came out as the final performance of the episode. As judge Bruno Tonioli said, "I'm so high I could hit the rafter."
Johnson slipped during the couple's quickstep routine, but the pair kept their energy up, with Siwa throwing out a big smile for the cameras. They ended the night with a score of 29 out of 40.
Eric McCandless/ABC JoJo Siwa and Jenna Johnson performing on 'Dancing With the Stars'
Siwa came out as gay in January and recounted her coming out story for Entertainment Weekly's Pride Month digital cover story. "It was never scary to me to put out to the world that I was happy or I was in love," she said at the time.
Since then, she's been bringing a newfound awareness of the LGBTQ community. During a virtual panel at the Television Critics Association press tour back in August, Siwa expressed her excitement for the opportunity this kind of visibility would bring to the show.
"I think it breaks a wall that's never been broken down before," she said. "And it's normal for a girl to dance with a guy, and I think that that's really cool, but I think that it's really special that not only now, do I get to share with the world you get to love who you want to love, but also, you get to dance with who you want to dance with."
Watch her big Dancing With the Stars moment in the video above.
Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.
Related content:
