In a new interview with Porter magazine, Westworld and Thor: Ragnarok star Tessa Thompson opens up about her sexuality and close relationship to Janelle Monáe. The actress put it bluntly: "I’m attracted to men and also to women."
However, when talking about Monáe, she was less straightforward. Fans have speculated for years if the pair was dating, after they've walked the red carpet together, and Thompson appeared in Monáe's music videos.
"It’s tricky, because Janelle and I are just really private people and we’re both trying to navigate how you reconcile wanting to have that privacy and space, and also wanting to use your platform and influence," Thompson said.
Thompson, who grew up in a "free" household where "you can be anything that you want to be," knows not everyone was as fortunate to have the same supportive upbringing. "That was something I was conscientious of in terms of this declaration around Janelle and myself," she added to Porter.
"I want everyone else to have that freedom and support that I have from my loved ones. But so many people don’t," she continued. "So, do I have a responsibility to talk about that? Do I have a responsibility to say in a public space that this is my person?"
Though she didn't precisely confirm whether she and the singer are dating, she later said of Monáe: "We love each other deeply. We’re so close, we vibrate on the same frequency." And she'll allow the speculation to continue. "If people want to speculate about what we are, that’s okay. It doesn’t bother me," she added.
Monáe also candidly spoke about her sexuality earlier this year when she came out as pansexual in a Rolling Stone cover story. "Being a queer black woman in America, someone who has been in relationships with both men and women – I consider myself to be a free-ass motherfucker," she told the magazine.
The multi-hyphenate artist added that she first identified as bi, "but then later I read about pansexuality and was like, ‘Oh, these are things that I identify with too.' I'm open to learning more about who I am."
Erica Gonzales is the Senior Culture Editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage on TV, movies, music, books, and more. She was previously an editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com. There is a 75 percent chance she's listening to Lorde right now.
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