Tessa Thompson comes out: ‘I’m attracted to men and women’
(Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for MTV)
Actress Tessa Thompson has come out, revealing that she is attracted to men and women.
The Thor: Ragnarok actress spoke publically about her sexuality for the first time on June 29, before going into depth about her rumoured relationship with Janelle Monáe.
In an interview with Net-A-Porter, Thompson said that she was attracted to both men and women, though she did not give herself a specific label.
Thompson said: “I can take things for granted because of my family – it’s so free and you can be anything that you want to be.
“I’m attracted to men and also to women. If I bring a woman home, [or] a man, we don’t even have to have the discussion.”
Thompson is best known for her appearances on dystopian drama Westworld, as well as her role as the explicitly bisexual hero Valkyrie in Thor: Ragnarok.
The 34-year-old was recently propelled into the spotlight due to her close relationship with musician and actress Janelle Monáe who came out as queer earlier this year.
There has been a great deal of speculation online about the relationship between the actresses, particularly after the release of the sexually charged bisexual anthem “Make Me Feel” in which Thompson stars.
Thompson said that there was a difficult balance between maintaining privacy and also contributing to representation.
She said: “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 added that she knew that coming out would prompt fresh speculation about the relationship.
While she did not confirm or deny a romantic relationship with Monáe, the 34-year-old spoke about whether she had a responsibility to confirm a relationship at all.
“That was something I was conscientious of in terms of this declaration around Janelle and myself,” she said.
“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?”
Thompson then added that the flurry of speculation about her relationship with Monáe did not bother her, and that they loved each other greatly.
She said: “We love each other deeply, we’re so close. We vibrate on the same frequency. If people want to speculate about what we are, that’s okay. It doesn’t bother me.”
