Janelle Monáe’s Take On Individuality Got Her Double-Nominated At The SAG Awards

If you’re an OG Janelle Monáe fan, you know that one of her main taglines when it comes to individuality is “...even if it makes others uncomfortable.” As a singer who created her own R & B-inspired sci-fi world of segregated androids way before Westworld made it a thing, Monáe has always danced to the beat of her own drum. She credits this commitment to embracing originality as what drew her to Moonlight and Hidden Figures. It worked in her favor. For her first ever SAG Awards, Monáe is nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Cast twice for her roles in both films. She told E!’s red carpet correspondent that she’s proud to be part of something “bigger than [herself].” She hopes both films “encourage you to embrace the things that make you unique even if it makes others uncomfortable.” Monáe herself, with her black-and-white uniform and soft outspokenness, isn’t a bad role model on that front, either. Looking at the bigger picture, Monáe says that both Moonlight and Hidden Figures highlight what it looks like when put aside our differences and remember that we are all in this together. Unrelated: The singer-turned-actor also said that she was “in tears” reading the scripts for both films. Those tears are something she and I have in common. Watch Refinery29's Facebook Live red carpet show below: