Actress Jameela Jamil has come out as queer on Twitter.
The 33-year-old revealed she had previously kept silent about her sexuality as she feared she would be accused of jumping on the bandwagon.
The term 'Queer' can include anyone within the LGBTQ+ spectrum who does not identify as heterosexual or cisgender.
It is both embraced and frowned upon by others.
Her announcement came after US broadcaster HBO announced on Tuesday that the actress would be a judge on its new voguing contest 'Legendary'.
Some had questioned whether Jamil was suitable to serve as a judge because she wasn't a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
She said, "This is why I never officially came out as queer. I added a rainbow to my name a few years ago., as its not easy within the south Asian community to be accepted and I always answer honestly if ever straight asked about it on Twitter."
She said she had kept her sexuality a secret “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 🌈 (@jameelajamil) February 5, 2020
She added, “I know that my being queer doesn’t qualify me as ballroom. But I have privilege and power and a large following to bring to this show … 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.”
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