You know Oscar-nominated actor Aunjanue Ellis from many films and TV shows, like last year's King Richard.
But you may not have known that she also identifies as bisexual.
In a new interview with Variety, Aunjanue talks about her bisexuality and says that it wasn't something she was trying to keep secret — quite the opposite, in fact.
Take a close look at this picture from this past March's Essence Black Women In Hollywood Awards Luncheon. Aunjanue is posing with an award alongside Nia Long, Quinta Brunson, and Chanté Adams.
"Queer" is written in rhinestones down the left arm of Aunjanue's jacket.
“I was thinking, ‘Why didn’t more people pay attention to that?’" she told Variety. "And I was like, they probably thought it said ‘Queen.’”
Aunjanue also specified that someone in her family noticed the sartorial gesture — and that even though they knew she was bisexual, they were "hurt" by her public display of her own sexuality.
“I am a work in progress, and my family and my community are works in progress,” she said while discussing growing up bisexual in a religious family.
“If they come to New York and they are around all my gay friends, they’re like, ‘Oh we’re cool,'" she explained. "But don’t bring it to the house. Don’t be open with it.”
Aunjanue also explained why she didn't talk about her bisexuality during the press tour for King Richard.
“Nobody asked," she said with a laugh. “How do you work that into the conversation, in the middle of me talking about this movie?"
“I’m not that chick," she added. "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.”
