Jameela Jamil Coming Out Sparks Debate On Twitter About Queerness And Representation

This morning, Jameela Jamil publicly came out as a queer woman after she received intense backlash for her role in HBO’s new show Legendary – a competitive unscripted series focusing on ballroom and voguing.

In a three-page note post, titled ‘Twitter is brutal’, Jamil responded to the criticism surrounding her involvement in the show. While announcing herself as a queer woman, Jamil said she was afraid to come out as a brown woman in her 30s, pointing to her personal experience of queerness in the south Asian community, as well as being afraid of accusations of “performative bandwagon jumping.”

“Sometimes it takes those with more power to help a show get off the ground so we can elevate marginalised stars that deserve the limelight and give them a chance,” she wrote.

✌???? pic.twitter.com/YcB6H7YCT0

— Jameela Jamil ???? (@jameelajamil) February 5, 2020

She also denied earlier reports that she had signed on as MC.

“I’m just a lead judge due to my 11 years of hosting experience,” she explained. In an earlier tweet she clarified that Dashaun Wesley had actually been tapped to MC.

I’m a judge, alongside @leiomy @theestallion and @LUXURYLAW with music from icon @TheOnlyMikeQ I know some of us aren’t from ballroom, but we are here to bring our followings, press and new audiences to the show, to support and celebrate the ballroom community. That is all. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/1H1J5hXi3K

— Jameela Jamil ???? (@jameelajamil) February 5, 2020

The response from Twitter users is a lot, to say the least. Some questioned Jamil’s use of “queer” and what that actually means, while others accused her of playing victim. The overwhelming consensus here is that while nobody should be forced to come out, Jamil has missed the mark in her response to LGBTQ+ representation in film and television.

Trace Lysette, who yesterday expressed her disappointment in Jamil’s involvement with the show, tweeted: “Being queer does not make you ballroom.”

Being queer does not make you ballroom. Being any number of marginalized identities does not make you ballroom. The only thing that makes you ballroom is if you are actually from it. And most of us who are from it, sought it out when we had no one else.

— Trace Lysette (@tracelysette) February 5, 2020

jameela jamil has done good things, and it’s clear she has the decent intentions. but she’s become so blinded by her own self righteousness and a victim of the her own doing by pushing a standard that even she is unable to keep up with. being her honestly must be so exhausting

— Joshua (@joshcharles_21) February 5, 2020

would allow herself to be a judge on a ballroom show, a culture she is not familiar with. The insistence that “Twitter is brutal” and she was bullied into coming out, now makes her a victim of queer people of color (mostly black) who rightly had critiques yesterday. A shame.

— Ira Madison III (@ira) February 5, 2020

Honestly I agree that Jameela isn’t right for the role, but I don’t think the immense amount of hatred she is getting is fair. She’s been forced to come out – conforming that she is indeed an LGBT+ person of colour – and I just don’t understand why we had to be so cruel to her?

— Calum McSwiggan (@CalumMcSwiggan) February 5, 2020

I know it’s “cool” to hate on Jameela Jamil but we don’t need men commenting on queer women’s sexuality and adding to the biphobia/panphobia/queerphobia already out there. Queer women don’t need to prove their sexuality to you or anyone. https://t.co/lHTzxG3v9M

— Lauren Ingram (@laureningram) February 5, 2020

jameela jamil, like so many of us, is learning as she goes and does not always get it right — but the way people are so ready to watch her fall (to the point of forcing her to publicly come out!!) is nothing other than bizarre and cruel, and it helps no one https://t.co/wyF8V6Mozo

— hannah ✨ (@hannahcatbrk) February 5, 2020

Jameela Jamil is queen of inserting herself where she shouldn’t but if your issue with her working on Legendary is that she isn’t queer, simply bc she hadn’t vocalized it until today, you’re reinforcing harmful ideas around not being “queer enough”.

— gabby ⚡️ she/her (@gabalexa) February 6, 2020

In direct response to Jamil’s statement, one user @minytrash tweeted: “And this is why I’m ALWAYS so weary of people hating on presumed ‘straight’ people going on LGBT shows. No one should EVER have to come out to avoid hate. This is horrifying. Is there legitimate criticism of her being on the show? Yes. But this shouldn’t have had to happen.”

Jamil has jumped “off this hell app for a while”, explaining that she doesn’t want to “read mean comments dismissing this” on Twitter.

“You can keep your thoughts,” she wrote.