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Was JoJo Siwa 'swatted'? 'Dance Moms' star says '50 police cars' surrounded home after she came out as bisexual

'Our house got swatted. We were at our house and, all of a sudden, there was a whole bunch of police telling us to come outside the house,' she said in a livestream

JoJo Siwa, the 17-year-old pop star who came out as a bisexual earlier this week, said in an Instagram Livestream that she had been "swatted", with police responding to a call about an alleged incident at her house in Los Angeles, California.

On Saturday, January 23, while on an Instagram Livestream, Siwa stated that she was the happiest she's "ever been" after coming out. Footage uploaded by the YouTube channel TRQFFIC appears to show Siwa, wearing the same hoodie she appeared in during her own livestream, and members of her family standing among police officers and vehicles outside a home.

A Los Angeles Police Department's spokesperson confirmed that officers had responded to a block on Saturday afternoon that appears to match the home shown in the footage and found no evidence of trouble.

"Our house got swatted. We were at our house and, all of a sudden, there was a whole bunch of police telling us to come outside the house. And we didn't know why. we went outside, hands up like you have to. The police were saying that somebody had called and made a claim and then all of a sudden paparazzi came around the corner," she said.

She further said, "I recently told the Internet how happy I was and told the internet that I am whatever I am. I told the internet, 'No matter gay, straight, or bi / Lesbian, transgendered life / I'm on the right track baby / I was born to survive.' The only reason why I'm not saying what I am is because I don't really know, but I know I'm really happy and that's all that matters," she continued.

"But since I recently 'came out' to the internet, which is officially the term, the media is obviously very excited, which I love and I love the support. However, you know, you could've just hung outside my house and I would've eventually came outside."

"I feel bad because there was about 50 police outside my house and that police could have had much better time spent somewhere else actually helping somebody instead of dealing with a fake claim from paparazzi. Literally just come ring my doorbell, paparazzi. I'll wave to you from my window," she added.

What is 'Swatting'?

According to Business Insider, "Swatting is the act of calling the police on an innocent person with a false claim that the individual is an active shooter, kidnapper or another type of hostile criminal." The website also states, "And as live streaming becomes more popular and streamers and influencers make more of their private lives public, the risk of swatting goes up and up."

One Internet user said: "my heart aches rn. i cant believe people still say homophobia is gone. jojo siwa is a child. swatting is not a 'prank', it is literally attempted murder. she deserves the world and she is so incredibly brave for all that she’s done, and y’all do THIS? :(" Another one said, "No hate but be honest. what tf would jojo siwa do to anyone?. Swatting her was messed up :("

One shocked user said, "i cannot believe that someone swatted jojo siwa. just because she came out as gay. swatting gets people killed and jojo is a fucking child. this world is disgusting." Another fan tweeted, "People are so wrong to do this, swatting is so irresponsible and just down right dangerous. @itsjojosiwa had the best response “it didn’t bother me any, I literally just had to walk outside”

A user tweeted, "Whoever swatted Jojo Siwa's house should be prosecuted to the highest extent of the law it is fucking disgusting! Swatting should be against the law to begin with."

Another angry fan said, "Look, if you don't like JoJo Siwa that's fine. Not everyone can vibe. But swatting her, sending her hate for coming out as gay, is homophobic ,as well as a crime against a minor, so whoever is doing this,,,disgusting. Ppl are homophobic as fuck and that really needs to stop."