Janelle Monae is speaking their truth and opening up about gender identity. During the season five premiere of Facebook Watch's Red Table Talk, Monae came out as non-binary.
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"I'm nonbinary, so I just don't see myself as a woman, solely. I feel all of my energy," they revealed to hosts Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith and Adrienne Banfield-Norris. "I feel like God is so much bigger than the 'he' or the 'she.' And 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.”
Monae also touched on the importance of figuring out their identity for themselves before sharing the news with the world. "I just see everything that I am, beyond the binary. When I see people, I see your energy first. I don't see like, how you identify. And I feel like that opens you up to fall in love. With any beautiful spirit," they added. Apparently, fans thought Monae came out in January 2020 after they used the #IAmNonbinary hashtag on social media. However, the singer and actress later clarified that they used the hashtag in support of the non-binary community.
The “Tightrope” singer formerly talked about gender fluidity in a 2018 interview with Rolling Stone. Monae shared that they identified as pansexual after previously identifying as queer. “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-a** motherf*****," they told the magazine. "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." At the time, Monae was romantically linked to actress Tessa Thompson, according to E! News.
You can watch the full talk with Monae above and hear them as part of Audacy's Planet Q.
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