While she has previously alluded to the fact that she is nonbinary in a Tweet sent in 2020, actor and music recording artist Janelle Monáe recently discussed her gender in-depth in an interview with Adrienne Banfield Norris, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Willow Smith on Red Table Talk. Please note that while Monáe has stated in no uncertain terms that she is nonbinary, she also uses “she,” “her,” and “hers” as pronouns.

Over the course of the interview, Monáe was very open, communicative, and enthusiastic about her gender. “I’m nonbinary, so I just don’t see myself as a woman, solely,” Monáe stated. “I know who I am. I’ve been playing a version of some parts of me, but now I’m owning all of me.”

Monáe further elaborated and explained that her religious beliefs inform her gender. “I feel like God is so much bigger than the ‘he’ or the ‘she,’” said Monáe. “If I am from God, 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.”

Monáe did say that she had difficulty coming out to certain members of her extended family, predominantly comprised of people who hold Baptist Christian beliefs. “My whole family is church, church, church,” she said. “And I’m just like, ‘Well, what does it mean to go against your whole family on this thing?’ But I was ready, I was like, ‘You know what, if they don’t love me, don’t call me asking me for no money. You will not get my LGBTQIA+ money.”

Janelle Monáe Will Soon Appear in Knives Out 2

Monáe will soon appear in Knives Out 2, the sequel to the 2019 Rian Johnson film, which is expected to be released in late 2022. Aside from the fact that it will be set in Greece, little is known about the story or characters who will form the cast for the highly anticipated sequel. Monáe will appear alongside actors like Kathryn Hahn, Edward Norton, Dave Bautista, Leslie Odom Jr., Kate Hudson, Ethan Hawke, and Jessica Henwick. And, of course, Daniel Craig will be reprising the role of Benoit Blanc, the world-renown private investigator who may be the only returning character from the original mystery.

In addition to her acting career, Monáe is known for her extensive activist work and her music … but these two elements of her career are not always inextricable. One example is Cindi Mayweather, a fictitious android identity from 2719 who has an extensive, Afrofuturist backstory and who Monáe has explained as filling the same archetypical role as Neo in The Matrix movies. Another example is Dirty Computer, her most recent album. Released concurrently with the album were not only several music videos but also an extended “emotion picture,” which featured Monáe and Tessa Thompson (who also appeared in the individual music videos) playing lovers in a dangerous time: a post-apocalyptic future where authoritarian nuns worked to stomp out any spark of joy or individuality they came across.