Jameela Jamil: Queer In Response To Criticism Of Her Ballroom Show

After receiving backlash for her leading role in Legendary, an upcoming HBO Max series featuring ballroom competitions, Jameela Jamil came out as queer.

“Twitter is brutal. this is often why I never officially came out as queer,” she tweeted on Wednesday. “I added a rainbow to my name once I felt ready a couple of years ago, as it’s tough with the South Asian community to be accepted, and that i always answered honestly if ever straight-up asked about it on Twitter. But I kept it low because i used to be frightened of the pain of being accused of performative bandwagon jumping, over something that caused me tons of confusion, fear, and turmoil once I was a child .”

The actor’s tweet about her sexuality may be a response to criticism that came Tuesday, when HBO Max announced during a handout that she would be a judge and emcee on a replacement series during which contestants compete in fashion and dance challenges, including voguing. Ballroom competitions have for many years showcased the design and skills of LGBTQ people — and other people questioned why Jamil, who has no ties to the ballroom community, would be at the show’s helm.

✌🏽 pic.twitter.com/YcB6H7YCT0

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

After touting Jamil because the emcee and judge, Tuesday’s handout also noted that Megan Thee Stallion, Law Roach, and Leiomy Maldonado are going to be judges, Pose’s Dashaun Wesley will provide commentary, and DJ MikeQ are going to be “at the turntable.”

According to Jamil, the handout was wrong and Wesley is really set to emcee the show.

“Reading an inaccurate handout about our new show yesterday was upsetting, and it triggered tons of incorrect news articles about it. To be very clear, it’s @DashaunWesley who has worked on this show for two years is (and always has been) the MC of #Legendary,” she tweeted on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, HBO Max clarified its original news release during a statement to BuzzFeed News.

“Yesterday, HBO Max was excited to announce Dashaun and Jameela’s involvement within the series Legendary. For clarity, Dashaun is that the series’ MC/Commentator, and Jameela heads up the panel of judges alongside Leiomy, Law, and Megan,” HBO Max said.

Trace Lysette, an actor who’s appeared in projects like Hustlers, Pose, and Transparent, also tweeted about Jamil’s involvement in Legendary on Tuesday. Lysette said she interviewed for the show and questioned the decision-makers who opted for somebody with no ballroom background.

“As the mother of a house for nearly a decade it’s quite [mind-]blowing when people with no connection to our culture gets the gig,” Lysette tweeted. “This isn’t shade towards Jameela, i really like all that she stands for.”

On Wednesday, Lysette added that the difficulty around Jamil’s role within the show wasn’t about her queer identity.

“The only thing that creates you ballroom is that if you’re actually from it,” she said.

In Jamil’s statement, she said she hoped she could use her privilege and television experience to spice up the show.

“I know that my being queer doesn’t qualify me as ballroom. But I even have privilege and power and an outsized following to bring back this show, (as does the absolutely iconic Megan Thee Stallion,) and its beautiful contestants and ballroom hosts,” Jamil said.

She added in her tweet this is often “absolutely” not how she wanted to return out which it’s scary to be open about sexuality as an actor, “especially when you’re a brown female in your thirties.”

The show starts filming Thursday, Jamil said, adding that she’s excited to figure with the remainder of her cast members. She also clarified again that she’s not the most host or an emcee but a lead judge, she wrote, “due to my 11 years of hosting experience, being fully impartial, a newcomer to ballroom … and thus a window certain people that are just discovering it now, and being a longtime ally of the LGBTQ community.”

“It’s fucking hard to be asked to still twiddling my thumbs after goodbye of expecting what you would like . i do know that. South Asian stories are almost never told without white stars,” she wrote.

“But I hope you don’t let a couple of castings designed to assist the show get off the bottom , stop you from supporting Ballroom on this show.”

This articale taken refrence from buzzfeednews