'This is who I am': King Richard's Aunjanue Ellis reveals she is bisexual as she says, 'I am queer'

May 2024 · 5 minute read

Aunjanue Ellis revealed that she is bisexual, saying, 'I am Black, I am queer. This is who I am.'

The King Richard actress, 53, speaking with Variety in a piece published Wednesday, said that she previously hadn't spoken about her sexuality, as 'nobody asked.'

The Oscar-nominated star opened up about how there were presumptions made about her: 'Is it because I'm a Black woman from Mississippi? Is it because I'm older?

The latest: Aunjanue Ellis, 53, revealed that she is bisexual, saying in a Variety piece Wednesday, 'I am Black, I am queer. This is who I am.' She was snapped at an Oscars event in LA in March

The latest: Aunjanue Ellis, 53, revealed that she is bisexual, saying in a Variety piece Wednesday, 'I am Black, I am queer. This is who I am.' She was snapped at an Oscars event in LA in March 

'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. This is who I am.'

Ellis said that she did not speak about the topic during her multiple public appearances during award season in support of King Richard, as it was not keynote to the topic at hand.

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'How do you work that into the conversation, in the middle of me talking about this movie?' said Ellis, who played Oracene 'Brandy' Williams in the feted film. 'I'm not that chick. My job was to talk about King Richard, the Williams family, these wonderful young women I worked with, Will Smith's incredible work in that movie.

'I wasn't going to be like, "And by the way, in case you ain't heard yet …" Because that's artificial.'

Ellis told the publication, '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. This is who I am'

Ellis told the publication, '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. This is who I am'

The Mississippi native in March attended the Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards March 24 donning a Dolce & Gabbana jacket with the word 'Queer' spelled out in rhinestones on the sleeve, and said that nobody addressed the fashion statement at the time

The Mississippi native in March attended the Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards March 24 donning a Dolce & Gabbana jacket with the word 'Queer' spelled out in rhinestones on the sleeve, and said that nobody addressed the fashion statement at the time

The Mississippi native in March attended the Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards March 24 donning a Dolce & Gabbana jacket with the word 'Queer' spelled out in rhinestones on the sleeve, and said that nobody addressed the fashion statement at the time.

'I was thinking, "Why didn't more people pay attention to that?"' Ellis said. 'And I was like, they probably thought it said "Queen." It wasn't that I was expecting any sort of major reaction or anything like that. One of my family members noticed, but nobody else did.'

The 61st Street actress said that a relative who was aware that she is bisexual relayed that she was 'hurt' by the fashion display.

'I am a work in progress, and my family and my community are works in progress,' Ellis said. 'I really believe that that is important to say because I'm not alone. We see people on the other side of it, where everybody's good and fine: "Love is love."

'If they come to New York and they are around all my gay friends, they're like, "Oh we're cool." But don't bring it to the house. Don't be open with it.'

Ellis was pictured with her King Richard costar Will Smith in Santa Barbara, California in March

Ellis was pictured with her King Richard costar Will Smith in Santa Barbara, California in March

Ellis said that she was aware of her sexuality when she was growing up, 'but there was no template for it; there was no example of it; there was no place for it, and certainly no forgiveness for it'

Ellis said that she was aware of her sexuality when she was growing up, 'but there was no template for it; there was no example of it; there was no place for it, and certainly no forgiveness for it'

Ellis, who is slated to appear in next year's remake of The Color Purple, said she has always lived her life openly and is 'very clear about being bisexual.'

She said: 'The way that I live my life, around the people that I live my life around, I am public about it ... I have a sweatshirt that says "Girl Bi" that I wear everywhere.'

Ellis said that she was aware of her sexuality when she was growing up, 'but there was no template for it; there was no example of it; there was no place for it, and certainly no forgiveness for it.

'The solitude of that is so lonely, it's violent,' Ellis said. 'It's violent because you literally have to tuck and place so many parts of you to be acceptable, so people won't run from you and don't want to be around you. It was exhausting. That's what childhood was like. That's what adolescence was like.'

Ellis noted that there is a dearth of material about Black queer women in entertainment.

'There are characters, but the full experience of a Black woman being gay or bisexual, it doesn't exist, so we've got to write it into existence,' she said. 'It is imperative that we see more of that, because it is the truth of who we are. 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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