Jameela Jamil comes out as queer in defending Legendary casting -- as HBO Max confirms she's not the host

Us Weekly

The Good Place alum posted a lengthy statement to Twitter this afternoon after facing backlash Wednesday for being named the MC and judge of HBO Max's voguing competition, explaining again that she isn't the host of the HBO voguing reality show -- she's "a lead judge." “This is why I never officially came out as queer. I added a rainbow to my name when I felt ready a few years ago, as it’s not easy within the south Asian community to be accepted, and I always answered honestly if ever straight-up asked about it on Twitter.” Jamil added that "I kept it low 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. I didn’t come from a family with *anyone* openly out. It’s also scary as an actor to openly admit your sexuality, especially when you’re already a brown female in your thirties.” Jamil added: “This is absolutely not how I wanted it to come out. I’m jumping off this hell app for a while because I don’t want to read mean comments dismissing this. You can keep your thoughts.” Meanwhile, HBO Max issued a statement clarifying that Jamil isn't the host of Legendary -- that "King of Vogue" Dashaun Wesley will be the actual MC and commentator. "Yesterday, @hbomax was excited to announce Dashaun and Jameela’s involvement in the series LEGENDARY," HBO Max's PR Twitter account tweeted an hour after Jamil posted her statement. "For clarity, Dashaun is the series’ MC/Commentator, and Jameela heads up the panel of judges alongside Leiomy (Maldonado), Law (Roach), and Megan (Thee Stallion)."