JoJo Siwa was "swatted" after paparazzi called the police to her house

25 January 2021, 12:11

JoJo Siwa talks about being swatted by paparazzi after coming out

By Jazmin Duribe

Swatting is when someone anonymously reports you to the police or emergency services so that they will be falsely dispatched to your address.

JoJo Siwa was "swatted" after paparazzi called the police to her house following her coming out revelation.

Last week, JoJo came out on social media. Fans first thought JoJo could be announcing her sexuality after she shared a TikTok video dancing to LGBTQ+ anthem 'Born This Way' by Lady Gaga. She then posted a photo of herself wearing a "Best Gay Cousin" t-shirt and confirmed that she is part of the LGBTQ+ community on Instagram Live.

People applauded JoJo for coming out and she received praise on social media for her courage. However, her coming out has also led to heightened interest from paparazzi.

JoJo Siwa was "swatted" after paparazzi called the police to her house. Picture: @itsjojosiwa via Instagram

On Sunday (Jan 24), a video of JoJo outside of her house with a load of police officers started circulating the internet. JoJo confirmed that she had been "swatted" and explained what that term actually means.

"Basically, there's this thing called swatting. We're at our house, and all of a sudden, there was a whole bunch of police telling us to come outside the house," she explained on Instagram Live. "We went outside, hands up, because you have to obviously follow the rules, and then the police were saying that somebody had called and made a claim. And then, all of a sudden, paparazzi came from around the corner. It's called 'swatting', where the media will actually call the police, so that way you have to come outside your house."

She continued: "I think because I recently came out to the internet, the media is obviously very excited, which I love, and I love the support. However, you could've just hung outside my house and I would've eventually come outside my house.

"I feel bad because there was about 50 police at our house, and those police could've had a much better time spent somewhere else actually helping somebody, instead of dealing with a fake claim from paparazzi."

JoJo Siwa opens up about coming out

Luckily, JoJo didn't let that little mishap dampen her mood. JoJo has been gushing about how happy she's been following the response to her coming out. In an Instagram post, she said: "Thank you because for the last 48 hours... 72 hours... I have gotten the most endless amount of love and support. I'm really happy.

"Now that the world gets to see this side of my life... it makes me really, really, happy. I've been happy in this land for a minute now and now that I get to share this with the world – it's awesome!"