Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor is using her voice to ensure more Black, queer stories get told
Variety, the King Richard and Origin star came out as bi. And though her closest friends and family had known for years, this was the first time she had shared her identity publicly. “The way that I live my life, around the people that I live my life around, I am public about it,” Ellis-Taylor said. “I’m very clear about being bisexual.
I have a sweatshirt that says ‘Girl Bi’ that I wear everywhere.”Subscribe to our newsletter for a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.A post shared by ms aunjanue | Unofficial IG (@msaunjanue)According to the pub, the actress knew she was queer since the age of 8.
But her religious upbringing ultimately prevented her from truly embracing it, leaving her feeling alone.“The solitude of that is so lonely, it’s violent,” she 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. I knew [my sexuality], 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.”It wasn’t until the age of 30 that Ellis-Taylor decided to hell with it, and claimed her queer identity.In the years since, Ellis-Taylor has used her platform to advocate for more LGBTQ representation in the entertainment industry.
