JoJo Siwa claps back at Candace Owens for suggesting she's lying about being a lesbian

• Candace Owens shared a six-minute video suggesting JoJo Siwa lied about being a lesbian.
• Siwa, who is known for her projects with Nickelodeon, responded to Owens on Tuesday on Twitter.

JoJo Siwa hit back at conservative commentator Candace Owens for suggesting she's lying about being a lesbian because she's "desperate for attention."

On April 4, Owens uploaded a nearly six-minute clip from her podcast to Twitter and discussed her views of Siwa. In the video, Owens said the 19-year-old star leveraged her sexuality for attention, saying "it's a great way to find a community of victims."

—JoJo Siwa (@itsjojosiwa) April 7, 2023

"I don't believe JoJo Siwa is a lesbian, by the way. I want to state that very clearly. I do believe that she's desperate for attention," Owens said at one point.

Just hours after Owens shared the video, Siwa responded with a brief tweet.

"I haven't watched the video yet…. But if it has anything to do with your caption, respectfully back the fuck off," Siwa wrote.

Representatives for Siwa and Owens did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comments.

Siwa, who is known for her TV show and projects with Nickelodeon, first opened up to fans about her sexuality in January 2021 with two TikTok videos and later posted a photo of her wearing a "Best. Gay. Cousin. Ever" t-shirt on Twitter. She shared more details on Instagram Live later that month, saying she's been a part of the LGBTQ community her entire life.

"But I always believed that my person was just going to be my person," Siwa said. "If that person happened to be a boy, great! And if that person happened to be a girl, great! I think I'm just really happy. I think in life you know when you meet your person, I really do."

In March 2023, Siwa told People that she realized she was gay while exploring Disney World with a friend she had a crush on.

"I have a lot of really hard memories here, but I have grown a lot at Disney. I fell in love for the first time at Disney World," Siwa told the outlet. "I realized I was gay at Disney World. I went through stages of heartbreak at Disney World. There's been a lot in my personal life that Disney World has really attributed to."