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“We need organizations like this,” he says Janelle Monae. She speaks passionately about the Trevor Project, the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ youth suicide prevention organization. Perhaps because of this passion, Grammy-nominated multi-hyphenate Monáe was honored with the organization’s Suicide Prevention Advocate of the Year award.
She is the second recipient of the honor, following last year’s inaugural laureate, a rapper Lil Nas X It’s easy to see why the organization turned to Monáe after that. Four years ago, the artist came out as pansexual, a revelation that caused a spike in Google searches for the term. “It was a big thing for me,” Monáe says in a recent phone call from Los Angeles. “I’ve had a lot of people write me and say, Yo, I identify the same way.”
Five months ago, Monáe also came out as non-binary in an interview with Red Table Talk and shared with Los Angeles Times that she uses she/they pronouns. Although it was instantly taken as major news, the revelation seemed accidental and all but a revelation right now, says Monáe. “I think I’ve probably even talked about it by now [it] before,” Mona says with a laugh. But that’s how Monáe lives now, speaking freely about her identity, learning and growing publicly with people watching her every move, figuring out how to break free along the way.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, the artist talks about her recognition from the Trevor Project, about her performance in the hotly anticipated Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, and the upcoming Josephine Baker series she is cooking up with A24.
Vanity Fair: How does this recognition from the Trevor Project resonate with you on a personal level?
Janelle Monae: It hits home. I’ve definitely had times when my mental health hasn’t been at its best. I wanted to talk to friends or family members who didn’t know I had anxiety about sharing the person I was becoming. I just remember having difficult moments in private that I didn’t talk about with anyone. There are certain people who will not love and accept you as you walk in your truth, and I have had to accept that. I had to come to terms with letting go of people who didn’t support me, letting go of family members or friends who didn’t want to support me as I walked in my truth.
I remember when I interviewed you for Vanity Fair Alibi, you said something very similar about feeling conflicted about sharing elements of your personal life with people and wondering if they would abandon you. Is receiving recognition like this potentially affirming in that regard?
yes Community is very important. To be affirmed by the community is a necessity of man to man. Just being seen and heard by the people you love and admire and respect means a lot, doesn’t it? I think this recognition brings more awareness to how important community is, how important our mental health is, how important it is to be around people who lift us up, who can be beacons of light for us in times of darkness. We all go through different obstacles. Different stages of happiness and darkness. Hopefully we can figure out how to be more compassionate with each other and really check in with each other.
Different stages of happiness and darkness. I feel like this will stick with me. You spoke really beautifully in April when you participated Red Table Talk for being non-binary. I was wondering if you could talk about what led to your decision then to share it. Was it something you thought about sharing publicly before, or was it a random thing?
I grow up in public. I had to discover things about myself until I was famous or famous. One of the things I always do is talk to people who I think need to be told [things] private, not public. It was important to talk to my mom, my family, my close friends as I let go of certain labels and discovered more about who I am. And I think once that happened, I didn’t need to hide anything. I’m not looking for validation from the whole world. IN Red Table TalkI felt like it was just a casual conversation.
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