Most artists are able to pinpoint the moment their passion for acting or singing began, and Janelle Monáe is no exception. When she sat down with Austin Butler for Variety’s Actors on Actors in 2022, she said, “[Singing] absolutely is a part of my DNA. I grew up, like you said, in the Baptist church. Both sides, paternal and maternal side, were singers.”
When one hears she grew up singing in church, religious songs may come to mind. However, Monáe was drawn to secular genres, too. In 2017, during an interview with Conan O’Brien, she shared, “My aunt used to take me to church with her and there was a moment where our pastor was so in the spirit and felt the Holy Spirit … and then it got quiet for a little bit … and I just remember saying, ‘just beat it, beat it.'” As fun as the anecdote may be now, she told Access Hollywood that she was ultimately escorted out and led to the children’s church because of it.
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Although religion shaped her from an early age, Monáe has used her platform to hold religious institutions accountable. In 2020, she tweeted, “The way many RELIGIONS are used to oppress women and perpetuate misogynistic ideals to REMAIN IN POWER must be discussed WAY MORE and ABOLISHED.”
