Tessa Thompson has officially come out as bisexual, and finally addressed her much-speculated about relationship with Janelle Monae.
Thompson hasn’t publicly discussed her sexuality until now, explaining to Net-a-Porter that she’s tried to maintain some privacy as her star continues to rise. But Thompson said she also feels compelled to use her growing platform responsibly.
“I’m attracted to men and also to women. If I bring a woman home, [or] a man, we don’t even have to have the discussion,” Thompson said. “I want everyone else to have that freedom and support that I have from my loved ones. But so many people don’t. 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?”
Public scrutiny about Thompson’s close relationship with Monae, which began in earnest when she co-starred in the singer’s recent visual album “Dirty Computer,” revved into high gear after Monae came out as pansexual earlier this year, but Thompson seemed to shrug off the speculation.
While she confirmed that she and Monae do “love each other deeply,” Thompson played coy about the nature of their relationship, stating simply that they “vibrate on the same frequency.”
“If people want to speculate about what we are, that’s okay,” she said. “It doesn’t bother me.”