The
actor made a statement following criticism of her new role on
HBO contest Legendary
The actor and TV presenter
Jameela Jamil has come out as queer after a
social media backlash to her new role as a judge on a TV voguing contest. Jamil, who started her career on Channel 4’s teen programming slot, T4, and starred in NBC comedy The Good Place, was announced on Tuesday as the host of a new contest, Legendary, based around the predominately black and Latinx subculture of drag balls in the LGBT community. The HBO show will focus specifically on voguing, the dance style popularised by the Madonna song Vogue and the cult documentary Paris Is Burning and features rapper and singer Megan Thee Stallion on its judging panel. Dashaun Wesley – from the hit ballroom-culture drama Pose – will serve a commentator.
The public response to Jamil’s appointment focused on her perceived lack of ties to its subject matter. On Wednesday, she tweeted a statement in which she came out as queer, saying that 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”. She emphasised that coming out did not automatically entitle her to a place on the show, adding: “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.”
Jamil, who is in a relationship with singer James Blake, is no stranger to online controversy. With a personal brand focused largely on body positivity, she has spoken out against the Kardashians – dubbing the reality TV stars “double agents for the patriarchy” – and speaking out against airbrushing, detox teas and women’s attitudes towards mens’ height among other topics. In October, she rolled back on comments defending Ellen DeGeneres’s friendship with George W Bush, saying that she had only just learned “the full extent of Bush’s heinous presidency … we weren’t taught much about him at school, we just heard he was stupid. I now understand the rage”.
Produced by the makers of Netflix hit Queer Eye, Legendary will see voguing teams compete for a cash prize and will air on HBO’s forthcoming streaming platform HBO Max.