Janelle Monae is considering a sex strike. The Hidden Figures actress-singer made some bold statements about men and women in an interview for Marie Claire’s “Fresh Faces” issue.
“People have to start respecting the vagina,” Monae said. “Until every man is fighting for our rights, we should consider stopping having sex. I love men. But evil men? I will not tolerate that. You don’t deserve to be in my presence. If you’re going to rule this world, I am not going to contribute anymore until you change it.”
Monae, 31, added that she’s all about empowering young black women in 2017. “We have to realize our power and our magic. Because I am all about black-girl magic, even though I’m standing with all women,” she said. “But this year? This year, I am so carefree black girl.”
The Moonlight star appears on one of the magazine’s five May covers along with Emily Ratajkowski, Aja Naomi King, Zoey Deutch and Alexandra Daddario.
Ratajkowski, for her part, opened up about the misconception that you can’t be both smart and sexual in her interview. “In every profile written about me, there is, ‘She’s so sexual and she’s such a sex symbol,’ paired with, ‘But, wow, she knows about politics.’ And that in itself is sexist,” she declared. “Why does it have to be one or the other?”
The 25-year-old model-actress added that she goes after movie roles that challenge her. “I am way more interested in working with unexpected and cool directors on interesting projects than being in this big studio movie where you’re in a bikini,” she said. “I turn down a lot of movies, but I have to fight for the ones that I really want.”
