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Tessa Thompson Closes Out Pride Month By Coming Out as Bisexual

Tessa Thompson

The Thor: Ragnorak star put an end to speculation about her sexual identity in a new interview. 

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Actress Tessa Thompson, who recently appeared as Janelle Monae's muse in the video for "PYNK," has capped off Pride Month by coming out as bisexual in an interview with Net-a-Porter.

Last year, Thompson confirmed that her Thor: Ragnorak character, Valkyrie, was bisexual despite the filmmakers cutting a scene that would have made it clear in the movie. Now, after much internet speculation about Thompson's sexual identity, spurred in great part by her close friendship with Monae, she has left no room for guessing about her bisexuality.

"I'm attracted to men and also to women. If I bring a woman home, [or] a man, [in my family] we don't even have to have the discussion," Thompson told Net-a-Porter.

Thompson, who has starred in Annihilation, Creed, and the upcoming Sorry to Bother You, stopped short of confirming or denying speculation about the nature of her relationship with Monae.

"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 said. "That was something I was conscientious of in terms of this declaration around Janelle and myself. 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?"

Monae came out this April in a Rolling Stone cover story.

"Being a black queer woman in America, someone who has been in relationships with both men and women," Monae said. "I consider myself to be a free-ass motherfucker.'"

Responding to those fans interested in Thompson and Monae as a couple, Thompson said, "Janelle and I love each other deeply. We're so close, we vibrate on the same frequency. If people want to speculate about what we are, it doesn't bother me"

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Tracy E. Gilchrist

Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP of Editorial and Special Projects at equalpride. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.
Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP of Editorial and Special Projects at equalpride. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.