Singer and actor Janelle Monáe has dedicated her two Grammy nominations to members of the trans community.
She added: "People do it every day, my trans brothers and sisters do it every day."
The star, who has been a vocal advocate for members of the LGBTIQ+ community, also opened up about the industry pressure she felt to stay closeted - insisting it's a real and ongoing burden. “Especially when you’re a black woman, and also a creative black woman."
“I love science fiction, I love the arts, my goal has never been to fit into any type of category," she continued.
“And when you colour outside the lines, and then you say: ‘Hey, also, I’m a queer black woman,’ some people can be a little afraid of that and what that means and how do you market that and all those things."
On the subject of today's Grammy Awards, Monáe said she was proud to be representing queer black women.
“I think, for years, I have watched these shows and I have not seen that representation, the representation that I feel like I needed to see.
“And the fact that Dirty Computer is an album that is about me and also about a community of marginalised voices, the fact that that got nominated, that means the world to me.
“It’s just really about us feeling represented at these events."
