Amandla Stenberg, who played Rue in the first Hunger Games movie, has come out as bisexual. Stenberg made the revelation in a Snapchat takeover for Teen Vogue. She later posted the video to her Tumblr.
RELATED: I’m Gay, Bi, Trans, Fluid: The 63 Most Powerful Comings Out of 2015
Said Stenberg:
“It’s a really, really hard thing to be silenced. And it’s deeply bruising to fight against your identity and to mold yourself into shapes that you just shouldn’t be in. As someone who identifies as a black bisexual woman, I’ve been through it and it hurts. And it’s awkward and it’s uncomfortable but then I realized because of Solange [Knowles], and Ava Duvernay and Willow [Smith], and all the black girls watching this right now, there’s absolutely nothing to change.”
“We cannot be suppressed We are meant to express our joy and our love and our tears and be, big and bold and definitely not easy to swallow,” Stenberg added. “I definitely believe in the concept of rebellion through selfhood and rebellion just by embracing your true identity no matter what you’re being told. Here I am, being myself and it’s hard and vulnerable and it’s definitely a process but I’m learning and I’m growing…This is just the beginning though. We have a lot of work to do for all women of color. We need more representation in film and television and we need our voices to be louder in the media. And not just women of color. Bisexual women, gay women, transgender women, mentally ill women. I’m sick of all the misogyny and homophobia and transphobia I see around me and I know you are too.”
Watch the video above for her full statement.
