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Janelle Monáe Just Came Out as 'Sexually Liberated' In New Music Video
Don't make her spell it out for you.
Electric lady Janelle Monáe dropped two brand new music videos this morning, sending fans into meltdown mode. But one question was left on everyone's lips after the first watch: "wait, did she just come out?"
In the "Make Me Feel" video, Monáe enters into what can only be described as an eclectic, futuristic, '80s throwback bar with Thor Ragnorok's Tessa Thompson, who both seem to be scoping out the local ladies. This could simply be a nod to the rumors that have been circulating for years about the two dating, but it quickly gets much gayer from there.
Things heat up between the two women as Monáe deems herself "an emotional sexual bender."
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The lyrics almost seem to be winking at the audience. "Baby, don’t make me spell it out for you/All of the feelings that I've got for you," she sings over a Prince-y guitar riff. "You keep on asking me the same questions (why?)/And second guessing all my intentions/Should know by the way I use my compression/You've got the answers to my confessions."
Um??!?!!?!
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It gets better. Monáe later crawls through a set of rainbow legs:
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And at the end of the video, she's getting down with both Thompson and a guy she'd been eyeing:
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It's unclear if this is Monae's way responding to the relationship rumors with Thompson, confirming their alleged romance, or just a wink-nudge way of coming out. But what exactly is she coming out as? "Sexually liberated."
"I’m about women’s empowerment," she told The Guardian. "I’m about agency. I’m about being in control of your narrative and your body. That was personal for me to even talk about: to let people know you don’t own or control me and you will not use my image to defame or denounce other women."
Monáe has admitted she was nervous to release the song. "I actually had this title on this concept before my first album The ArchAndroid," she told Zane Lowe on his Beats1 radio show. "It scared me because a lot of the things that I knew that I needed to say were very deep, very personal, from the heart."
Watch 'Make Me Feel' below!
Taylor Henderson is a PRIDE.com contributor. This proud Texas Bama studied Media Production/Studies and Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin, where he developed his passions for pop culture, writing, and videography. He's absolutely obsessed with Beyoncé, mangoes, and cheesy YA novels that allow him to vicariously experience the teen years he spent in the closet. He's also writing one!
Taylor Henderson is a PRIDE.com contributor. This proud Texas Bama studied Media Production/Studies and Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin, where he developed his passions for pop culture, writing, and videography. He's absolutely obsessed with Beyoncé, mangoes, and cheesy YA novels that allow him to vicariously experience the teen years he spent in the closet. He's also writing one!
