Janelle Monáe Credits Jamaican Food And Sex For Her Chiseled Physique In Black Bikini At 2023 Met Gala
Award-winning singer and actress Janelle Monáe has credited Jamaican food and sex for her stunning fashion statement at the 2023 Met Gala, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City yesterday.
The Grammy-nominated artist, who covered Bob Marley & The Wailers’ High Tide or Low Tide five years ago, began the night in an oversized, black-and-white coat before completely transforming her outfit into a see-through, risqué wireframe ensemble – giving her interpretation of this year’s Gala theme: “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty”.
The 37-year-old Glass Onion star’s transformation was smoothly aided by two men in suits, who were quickly out of the frame once the new outfit had been unveiled.
The actress shocked the crowd by lifting the wired frame above her waist, revealing her black sequin bikini and chiseled physique, accentuated by the pearls hanging at her hips.
Amidst the flood of camera flashes eager to capture the unveiling of the star’s body, one reporter boldly asked Monae what the secret was for her toned, five-foot-tall frame.
“Jamaican food and sex,” she replied while ascending the stairs, eliciting a chorus of cheers and laughter from the crowd.
In 2018, Monáe covered Bob Marley & The Wailers’ High Tide Or Low Tide for Spotify with her Dirty Computer band, after a trip to Jamaica. “When I heard it, it touched my heart,” she told Spotify’s Under Cover podcast. “This man [Bob Marley] wrote this song decades ago, but it’s still so relevant. I teleport every time I hear it.”
“I’m very selective about the cover songs that I choose and they mean so much to me,” added the actress. “It’s really difficult because I spend so much time crying to them or dancing to them that I don’t remember the words. I just want to listen to it over and over again and I will not accept my voice over that artist’s voice.”
She added that the song inspires her to be a more loving person.
“I wanna be more kind, I wanna be more accepting, I wanna be more forgiving,” she said. “I want friends who are there for me during those high tides or low tides, all the ups and downs or highs and lows of life.”
The singer also revealed that Catch a Fire, which just turned 50, was one of her favorite albums of all time.
“I heard it [Catch A Fire] for the first time when I was in Jamaica. I was in Montego Bay, and I heard it and I cried. I was so moved, I could not understand how he was able to capture exactly how I want someone to treat me, exactly how I want to treat somebody else.”
Last year, Monáe confirmed that she’s non-binary — neither exclusively male nor female — during an interview with Jada Pinket Smith’s Red Table Talk, according to NBC News.
“I’m nonbinary, so I just don’t see myself as a woman, solely,” Monáe said at the time.
“I feel all of my energy. I feel like God is so much bigger than the ‘he’ or the ‘she.’ If I am from God, I am everything. I am everything, but I will always, always stand with women. I will always stand with Black women. But I just see everything beyond the binary.”
The clip of Monáe’s Meta Gala moment has since been played close to 400,000 times, with hundreds reaffirming the star’s comments, while a few others joked about either trying Jamaican food for that reason, or lamenting their limited access to it.
“Well I’ll be damned… at least I’m heavy on the Jamaican food round here lol”, read one comment.
Jamaican author and entrepreneur, Terri-Karellle Reid also chimed in, posting a string of Jamaican flags.
Another Instagram user needed specifics regarding Monae’s formula. “She needs to be more specific. Which Jamaican food? Because I make and eat it all the time and my… Anyways, it’s working for her and she looks fit and nicely toned.”
One fan simply commented: “Steam fish and okra bawdyyyyy.”
Meanwhile, on Monday, Bajan superstar Rihanna and partner A$ap Rocky, made an impression at the annual fundraiser, arriving fashionably late to join the other stars in strutting their stuff.
The Fenty Beauty boss – who is expecting her second child Rocky – was clad in a floral dress.