Tessa Thompson comes out as bisexual, reveals she and Janelle Monáe "love each other deeply"
Tessa Thompson is known for her blunt, unabashed words, saying things like how they are. After months of debating on her sexual identity, she has finally addressed the issue in an interview for the first time ever. The “Westworld” and “Sorry to Bother You” actress has revealed that she is “attracted to men and also to women” and also spilled the details about her relationship with her friend and collaborator, musician-actress Janelle Monáe.
The rumours about the two of them being together had started after Thompson starred in Monáe's video "Dirty Computer" which was widely acclaimed for being queer-friendly. “It’s tricky because Janelle and I are just really private people and we’re both trying to navigate how you reconcile wanting to have that privacy and space and also wanting to use your platform and influence,” Thompson told Net-A-Porter.
“That was something I was conscientious of in terms of this declaration around Janelle and myself,” she added. “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?”
Back in April, during an interview with Rolling Stone, Monáe had come out as pansexual; and speaking of her relationship with Monáe, Thompson told the outlet, “We love each other deeply, we’re so close. We vibrate on the same frequency. If people want to speculate about what we are, that’s okay. It doesn’t bother me.”
Thompson also added how supportive her family is of her sexuality. “[In my family] you can be anything you want to be. I’m attracted to men and also to women,” she said. “If I bring a woman home, [or] a man, we don’t even have to have the discussion.” But she also admitted that it wasn't lost on her how this support could also lead her to "take things for granted" sometimes, especially since sometimes other members of the LGBTQ community don't always have a similar support system.
Off-screen, Thompson has also been a vocal activist in the #MeToo movement. Speaking of her involvement in the same — especially in terms of what her role as an actor should be in the scenario — she said, “This is not just a job, this is my life,’ Thompson observes. “So, I’m like, how do I want to spend it? What do I want my story to be?”
As for her profession, Thompson just finished shooting for the second season of "Westworld" and is also set to star in Boot Riley's Sundance smash “Sorry to Bother You” starting July 6. She is also a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe post her role of Valkyrie in "Thor: Ragnarok."