Entertainment
King Richard actress Aunjanue Ellis comes out as bisexual but reveals family’s feelings: ‘Don’t bring it in the house’-Alicia Adejobi-Entertainment – Metro
She has been open about her sexuality with friends and family for years.
Aunjanue has been openly bisexual with friends and family for years (Picture: Getty Images)
King Richard actress Aunjanue Ellis has revealed she is bisexual publicly for the first time.
The 53-year-old rose to even greater prominence earlier this year after starring alongside Will Smith in the biopic about Venus and Serena Williams’ tennis coach father, and earning an Oscar nomination for her performance.
While attending the Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards in April, Aunjanue appeared on the red carpet wearing a red coat with the word ‘queer’ stitched in sequins down the left arm.
However, no one seemed to take notice of it at the time and Aunjanue was surprised to find that reporters didn’t ask her about the significance of it to her.
Now to kickstart Pride Month, and its 50th anniversary, the actress has opened up about her sexuality after realising she was bisexual at the age of eight, but not coming out until her 30s.
The actress was shocked no one noticed the ‘queer’ stitched on the side of her coat last month (Picture: Getty Images)
‘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,’ Aunjanue told Variety about having the word ‘queer’ on her outfit.
Explaining how her family feel about her sexuality, she said: ‘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”.’
Aunjanue has been open about her attraction to both men and women for years but some of them were reportedly ‘hurt’ that she chose to reveal it in such a public way on the red carpet, having come from a heavily religious upbringing.
Aunjanue won acclaim for her performance in King Richard alongside Will Smith (Picture: Getty Images)
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She has also encountered uncomfortable situations with work colleagues over the years, including one project where a one co-star acted as though she was ‘almost disgusted’ at having to kiss another female actor.
After several similar experiences on the shoot, Aunjanue decided to send a mass text message to the cast and crew, which read: ‘Look, I love y’all. I appreciate my relationships and friendships, working and otherwise with all of you, but you need to know that I am bisexual.
‘So when you say things, when you have felt your most intimate with me, that are queer-phobic, you are talking about me. And it hurts.’
More: US Showbiz news
Aside from King Richard, Aunjanue is best known for her roles in The Help, Ray, Men of Honor and The Taking of Pelham 123. She has also appeared in Quantico, When They See Us, Lovecraft Country and The Birth of a Nation.
The actress has been nominated for an Oscar, Emmy, Golden Globe and Bafta, while winning a Critics’ Choice Movie Award for best supporting actress for King Richard.
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Metro.co.uk celebrates 50 years of Pride
This year marks 50 years of Pride, so it seems only fitting that Metro.co.uk goes above and beyond in our ongoing LGBTQ+ support, through a wealth of content that not only celebrates all things Pride, but also share stories, take time to reflect and raises awareness for the community this Pride Month.
MORE: Find all of Metro.co.uk’s Pride coverage right here
And we’ve got some great names on board to help us, too. From a list of famous guest editors taking over the site for a week that includes Rob Rinder, Nicola Adams, Peter Tatchell, Kimberly Hart-Simpson, John Whaite, Anna Richardson and Dr Ranj, we’ll also have the likes Sir Ian McKellen and Drag Race stars The Vivienne, Lawrence Chaney and Tia Kofi offering their insights.
During Pride Month, which runs from 1 – 30 June, Metro.co.uk will also be supporting Kyiv Pride, a Ukrainian charity forced to work harder than ever to protect the rights of the LGBTQ+ community during times of conflict. To find out more about their work, and what you can do to support them, click here.
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