Jameela Jamil Comes Out As Queer After Backlash Over Show Casting

Actor Jameela Jamil has announced that she is queer, after receiving backlash for being cast in an LGBT-interest reality TV show. HBO network had recently announced that the actress/model would be a judge on its new unscripted voguing contest Legendary. This news led to an online backlash, many saying that the actress was not representative of the black LGBT community. Even actress Trace Lysette criticized HBO's decision to hire Jameela.  In response, Jamil issued a statement in which she came out as queer, adding, "This is absolutely not how I wanted to come out."

Some Takeaways:

• Jameela Jamil faced online backlash for being cast in an LGBT interest reality TV show.
  
• Following that, Jamil has issued a statement, coming out as "queer".
• She also wrote that nobody in her family was "openly out".
  
•  Jamil is the daughter of a Pakistani mother and an Indian father.
• The 33-year-old started her career on T4, where she hosted a pop culture show from 2009 until 2012.

Read Also: Jameela Jamil Is Right, Airbrushing Belongs In The Bin

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. - Jameela Jamil

Jamil's  statement began with "Twitter is brutal." She further wrote that she identified herself as "queer" and had previously struggled to discuss the topic because "it's not easy within the south Asian community to be accepted." She also wrote that nobody in her family was openly out. "It's also scary as an actor to openly admit your sexuality, especially when you're already a brown female in your thirties," wrote Jamil, adding, "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."

What is Voguing?

The show Legendary is an upcoming ballroom competition. According to BBC, voguing is a genre of dance that was founded by black and Latino LGBT people who had been disowned by their families for their sexuality and gender, back in the 80s. Voguing, apart from being an art form is also seen as a form of self-expression and identity in the queer community. It gained a mainstream identity in 1990, with Madonna's hit song Vogue and the documentary Paris Is Burning.

It's also scary as an actor to openly admit your sexuality, especially when you're already a brown female in your thirties. - Jameela Jamil

Read also: LGBTQ India community says corporations must change definition of diversity

About Jameela Jamil

Jameela Jamil is the daughter of a Pakistani mother and an Indian father. The 33-year-old started her career on channel T4, where she hosted a pop culture show from 2009 until 2012. Later, She became the radio host for the show The Official Chart and was co-host of The Official Chart Update alongside Scott Mills on BBC Radio 1. In 2019 the Ehlers-Danlos Society honored Jameela with the title of  "Advocate of the Year." Meghan Markle also selected Jameela as one of the fifteen women  to appear on the cover of the September 2019 issue of British Vogue "Forces for Change."

Image Credit: page six

Mansi is an Intern at SheThePeople.TV