Following the backlash over her casting as a lead judge on the upcoming voguing competition show, the 'Good Place' alum says she has 'privilege and power and a large following to bring this show.'

• Feb 6, 2020

AceShowbiz - Jameela Jamil has come out as queer following backlash about her "Legendary" judging gig. People took issue with the network's choice of a straight person not at all associated with ball culture to be a main figure on the show about the queer art form.

Trans actress Trace Lysette was one of those who brought up this issue on Twitter. Claiming that she was at one point considered for a role on the show but lost the gig, she tweeted, "Lol.. I interviewed for this gig. As the mother of a house for nearly a decade it's kind of kind blowing when ppl with no connection to our culture gets the gig. This is not shade towards Jameela, I love all that she stands for. If anything I question the decision makers."

But Jameela has made it clear how she fits into this role. In a lengthy statement posted on Twitter on Wednesday, February 5, the 33-year-old actress wrote, "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."

The British actress continued explaining why she didn't come out earlier, "But 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."

Born to an Indian father and a Pakistani mother, she said that she "didn't come from a family with *anyone* openly out." She added, "It's also scary as an actor to openly admit your sexuality, especially when you're already a brown female in your thirties."

Defending her role on the show, "The Good Place" alum wrote, "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, (as does the absolutely iconic Megan Thee Stallion,) and it's beautiful contestants and ballroom hosts."

She also clarified reports which said that she would be hosting "Legendary". "I'm not the MC. I'm not the main host. I'm just a lead judge due to my 11 years of hosting experience, being fully impartial, a newcomer to ballroom," so she claimed.

Hoping that this casting issue will not overshadow the contestants' talent, Jameela told the press that she "really really don't want to talk about it." She also stated that she would be staying away from Twitter for a while because "I don't want to read mean comments dismissing this."

"Legendary" is an unscripted vogue competition series following a series of ballroom houses as they compete in various themed balls every episode. Set to air on HBO Max, it also has tapped Megan Thee Stallion, Law Roach and ballroom icon Leiomy Maldonado as judges, with ballroom stars Dashaun Wesley and DJ MikeQ as commentators.