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Aunjanue Ellis Discloses She is Bisexual

Hollywood actress Aunjanue Ellis has finally revealed the truth about herself. She identified as bisexual, which was already common knowledge to family and friends but had not made it known publicly before now.

The reason? Ellis elaborated, “Nobody asked.” 

Clarifying that she wasn’t one to talk about her personal life while promoting an Oscar-nominated film and her work “because that’s artificial,” Ellis revealed her truth in a unique way: by sporting a Dolce & Gabbana suit jacket imprinted with the word “Queer” to the Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards a few months past and by discussing the subject via Variety in their 2022 Pride issue. 

“I’m very clear about being bisexual. I have a sweatshirt that says ‘Girl Bi’ that I wear everywhere,” Ellis stated, further saying that although she gives her effort to bring pride to fellow Black women, they still don’t acknowledge her as a member of the LGBTQ+ family. 

“There is an assumption made of me – a presumption made of me. Is it because I’m a Black woman from Mississippi? Is it because I’m older? I don’t know what the mechanics are that goes into them not processing, or them not just being able to believe that in the same way I am Black, I am queer,” Ellis continued. “This is who I am.” 

When asked if she knew that her sexuality was different when she was younger, Ellis confirmed after some thought. However, the realization only came with time as an adult and not during childhood like most people would expect due to their religious upbringings in Bible belts.

“There was a moment when the sun was hitting the water, and I was looking down in the water, and it was so clear, and I can only hear this woman’s voice behind me,” she stated of the walk with a friend at Sundance Lab that was an enlightening moment of her life. 

“I said, ‘This is how I’m supposed to feel. This is what I’ve been waiting to feel my entire life.’” 

EW interviewed Ellis, who stressed her remarkable performance in King Richard as Venus and Serena Williams’ mother, Oracene. She said that the show holds a special place in her heart.

“It’s because I’ve done something I feel good about, and that’s because it’s making people feel good,” she told EW regarding the role. “I had to convince them to put me in this movie, but thankfully I got them to believe.” 

Today, she’s calling on her co-workers and the public to believe in what she has to say about her truth. 

“It is imperative that we see more of that because it is the truth of who we are,” Ellis said in the interview with Variety. “It is not a blemish on who we are. It is the wonderful scope of our humanity as Black folks in this country. It is something that I am insisting on, in what I bring into the world creatively.”

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