Janelle Monáe’s racy new video “Lipstick Lover” has caused quite a stir amid their day-one fans, with many taking issue with the star’s more provocative persona. A recent clip of Monáe flashing an audience while performing also left some of their more conservative fans taken aback.
Fellow R&B star SZA, however, is in full support of Monáe’s “self-renaissance,” she shared on Instagram in response to fans calling out the multi-hyphenate, who’s currently within their “age of pleasure.”
“I love that it’s HER being free [right now] because [people] LOVE to box women in and claim that because you’re articulate respected and intelligent, you can’t show your body or be sexual or anything else lol,” SZA commented on an Instagram post from RNB Radar. “It’s a ridiculous notion and I’m ALL FOR HER SELF RENAISSANCE.”
SZA’s remark came in response to others within the same comment section accusing Monáe of being attention-seeking and corrupted by the music biz.
“Almost cringy for her… she doing xtra sh*t outta nowhere and it’s giving me struggling to get a hit.. so she’s using the internet for the sexual trap to sell records n gain relevancy.. I ain’t into it coming from her.. she not even that type personality in my eyes,” wrote one critic, with another adding, “Them checks clearly dried up and this is desperation.”
Fortunately, SZA wasn’t alone in defending the Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery actress, with one supporter offering, “These comments are sad. People are not allowed to evolve and open up their personalities. That’s why folks are so stagnant in every day life. They remain the same out of fear that their friends and family will remark about them changing or trying something new. Folks are scared to change the way they do anything… on a small or large scale. They can’t even handle seeing other people change how they dress or their hair without launching into conspiracy theories. If you just did things because YOU wanted to, you won’t feel the need to question why others just up and make changes. Just live.”
It’s doubtful Monáe will be too shaken by the criticism, as she’s known to have a great sense of humor about herself, even laughing at a fan who told her she dressed like the “Monopoly man” early in her career.