The 21st Annual Back Lot Bash will take place during Chicago’s Pride weekend on June 28-29—but the Andersonville event that will be behind Cheetah Gym will be missing one high-profile act.
JoJo Siwa was slated to perform June 29, in part to promote new music including her song “Bulletproof.” However, the event website noted, “Due to a scheduling conflict, JoJo Siwa will no longer be performing at Chicago’s Back Lot Bash.”
Music has not been the only reason Siwa has been in the news lately. While competing on Celebrity Big Brother UK, Siwa said she realized that she’s not lesbian and now identifies as queer. Moreover, said she felt “pressured” into coming out as a lesbian in an interview with the Daily Mail’s YOU Magazine, according to the New York Post. (Siwa explained, “When I came out at 17, I said, ‘I’m pansexual because I don’t care [about gender].’ But then I kind of boxed myself in and I said: ‘I’m a lesbian.’ And I think I did that because of pressure.”) Siwa, who has only dated women since coming out in 2021, is now in a relationship with fellow Big Brother contestant and Love Island alum Chris Hughes, who she calls “the favorite part of my life.” She added that they have discussed marriage, and she told Bustle in 2023 that The Bachelorette alum Tyler Cameron—who starred alongside her on the reality-competition show Special Forces and have since become good friends—would “probably [be] the best man at my wedding,” according to People.
However, some people reacted negatively to Siwa’s comments about pressure, stating that he wasn’t taking “accountability,” per Yahoo! Others have called her “a poser” and have asked if she’s “cancelling shows over a man.” But social-media users are also supporting Siwa, with one person stating on Instagram that the singer/actress is “beautiful inside and out! Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. We are always rooting for you!” And yet another person posted, “Y’all are way too worried about a stranger’s sexuality.”
Some of the acts still scheduled to perform include Whitney Peyton, PINK Squeeze Band, Chloe Star, The DIVAS Band and The Fly Honeys. Chely Wright, Uh Huh Her, JD Samson, Nina Sky, Fortune Feimster and Ruby Rose have made past appearances at the Back Lot Bash.
Windy City Times has reached out to the organizers of Back Lot Bash.