Grammy nominee and Moonlight actor Janelle Monáe has been open about her pansexuality, but now she has opened up about being nonbinary in a new interview.
On the most recent episode of Red Table Talk, the show hosted by Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith and Pinkett Smith’s mother, Adrienne Banfield-Norris, Monáe opened up to the three hosts about how she identifies. “I’m nonbinary, so I just don’t see myself as a woman, solely,” Monáe said. “I feel all of my energy. I feel like God is so much bigger than the ‘he’ or the ‘she.’ If I am from God, I am everything. I am everything, but I will always, always stand with women. I will always stand with Black women. But I just see everything beyond the binary.”
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Monáe shared how she sees people’s energy first. “I don’t see like, how you identify,” she said. “And I feel like that opens you up to fall in love. With any beautiful spirit.”
Aside from discussing being nonbinary, Monáe also used her time on the show to discuss heartbreak, Prince and her new book, The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer.
Monáe’s pronouns (according to an interview with the Los Angeles Times published on April 21) are they/them and her/she. As she said in that interview, ““My pronouns are free-a** m*** and they/them, her/she.”
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Monáe’s episode of Red Table Talk was the first episode to air since the Oscars. At the beginning of the episode, Will Smith’s slap was briefly addressed: “Considering all that has happened in the last few weeks, the Smith family has been focused on deep healing,” a title card read. “Some of the discoveries around our healing will be shared at the table when the time calls. Until then the table will continue offering itself to powerful, inspiring and healing testimonies like that of our incredibly impressive first guest.”
You can watch the full episode here.
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