Janelle Monáe addresses the way the media covered her coming out
The 'Make Me Feel' singer has opened up
Janelle Monáe has spoken out on the way the media covered her coming out.
The singer came out as pansexual in a recent interview with Rolling Stone, sparking an online debate about bisexuality and pansexuality.
Monáe’s interview prompted an outpouring of support but many fans felt the Rolling Stone headline, which reads “Janelle Monáe Frees Herself”, was patronising, BBC reports.
This week, the ‘Make Me Feel’ singer hosted a Reddit AMA and was asked about the media coverage surrounding her sexuality.
The fan asked: “What do you think of the rhetoric surrounding you coming out as pansexual? Phrases such as Rolling Stone’s headline ‘Janelle Monáe Frees Herself’ seems reductive to me, you’ve always been a free-ass motherfucker, whether public or private in regards to your sexuality.”
Monáe answered: “Yeah, that happens. I’m also free to let that slide off my back. Being an artist sometimes means allowing others to use your image to push an idea based off of something you say or create.
“In this case, I think that there are a lot of people who may find courage in the story (at least I hope). And I’m not in the business of click bait and what makes people click on something. I’m just trying to be honest and hope that it resonates with the people it’s supposed to resonate with.”
She added: “The more FAM the better.”