‘King Richard’ star Aunjanue Ellis on her unapologetic Black and bisexual pride

By Variety

“I’m very clear about being bisexual. I have a sweatshirt that says ‘Girl Bi’ that I wear everywhere,” the actor said.

On March 24, Oscar nominee Aunjanue Ellis stepped onto the golden-hued carpet to accept her honors at the Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards. Emblazoned on the left arm of her red-hot Dolce & Gabbana suit jacket was the word “Queer” spelled out in rhinestones.

But no one on the press line outside the Beverly Wilshire hotel asked Ellis about it. And no one inside the ballroom did either. Maybe they were too focused on her barnburner of a speech accepting one of the afternoon’s honors, but the “King Richard” star has another theory.

“I was thinking, ‘Why didn’t more people pay attention to that?’ And I was like, they probably thought it said ‘Queen,’” she tells Variety over Zoom, bursting into a hearty laugh. “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.”

That family member already knew that Ellis is bisexual — the 53-year-old has been open about her sexuality to her friends and family in…

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