Jameela Jamil has come out as queer amid backlash over her being cast in a new ballroom dancing contest with strong ties to black and Latino LGBT culture.
Taking to Twitter, "The Good Place" actress said she was "scared" to reveal her sexuality, but felt the need to do so after being slammed for her involvement in the upcoming HBO TV show "Legendary."
The culture surrounding ballroom emerged in the 80s and served as a support network for black and Latino gay men and trans women, CNN noted.
Jamil, who is dating singer James Blake, received widespread criticism from many who felt she was not an appropriate representative of the scene.
"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," Jamil wrote in a statement posted to Twitter.
The actress said she found it difficult to discuss her sexual identity when she was younger as it was not easy to be accepted within the South Asian community. It was not any easier for her to speak out as an adult, especially as a "brown adult" in her thirties.
"This is absolutely not how I wanted to come out," Jamil said, adding that she was taking a break from Twitter because she did not want to "read mean comments dismissing this."
"Transparent" actress Trace Lysette was among those who took issue with Jamil's involvement in the show.
"I interviewed for this gig. As the mother of a house for nearly a decade it's kind of mind blowing when ppl with no connection to our culture gets the gig," she said on Twitter. "This is not shade towards Jameela, I love all that she stands for. If anything I question the decision makers."
Jamil explained that her being "queer" did not qualify her to be an ambassador for the ballroom culture, but she had the "privilege and power and a large following to bring to this show, (as does the absolutely iconic Megan Thee Stallion,) and its beautiful contestants and ballroom hosts."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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