Janelle Monáe’s mum hilariously reacts to star ‘showing nude booty’ in NSFW music video
Janelle Monáe’s mum has adorably expressed concern that her child’s new music video might get banned on YouTube. (YouTube/Janelle Monáe/Instagram/@JanelleMonae)
Janelle Monáe has shared the hilarious and heartwarming moment their mother Janet saw the star’s new NSFW “Lipstick Lover” video.
After some time spent away being an award-nominated actor in 2022’s Glass Onion: Knives Out film and award-winning LGBTQ+ trailblazer, Janelle Monáe has returned to their musical roots with the recent announcement that their new album, The Age of Pleasure, will drop on 9 June.
It’s been five years since their last studio album, 2018’s critically acclaimed Dirty Computer, and fans have been hungry for some new Janelle tunes.
Last week, Monáe decided to gift their fans with track “Lipstick Lover” and its accompanying, raunchy video – no doubt keeping them fed for weeks and months to come.
The three minute clip, which is so risqué that YouTube has slapped it with an “inappropriate” warning, is all about celebrating queer, Black bodies, sexual liberation and unapologetic pleasure.
There’s a fair bit of nudity and a splash of fetish, plus a lot of lip-based innuendos. While fans are overjoyed with the artsy video, Monáe’s mother Janet has hilariously expressed her concern about her child’s video “showing nude booty on the YouTube”.
In a clip posted on Monáe’s Instagram, the singer shares the music video with their mother while on a FaceTime call with her.
“That’s cool!,” their mother says after watching it. “Only thing though, are you gonna be able to show that nude booty all the time, like on the YouTube?”
Monáe responds by saying that YouTube has allowed the music video, and asks their parent for more of her thoughts.
“Well it would be nice if you had a man butt up there. It’s just that we know y’all versatile, [it] could be a man or a woman,” she says.
“Oh wow, OK,” Monáe answers. “That’s right, you right. Or a them or a they, or whoever.”
Since coming out as non-binary in 2022, Monáe has been vocal about using their platform to normalise they/them pronouns, and encouraged people to listen to trans and non-binary folk.
Continuing her analysis of all the booty on show in the “Lipstick Lover” movie, Monáe’s mum added: “It’s a nice song. If people don’t get hysterical about the booty so bad, if they just listen to the lyrics and the song, you gonna go triple golden.
“I was just hoping that big booty would go away for a second!”
Erupting into a cackle, Monáe then ends the adorable clip by asking their mum: “What you got against big booty? You got a big booty!”
Fans have been shedding tears of laughter and joy at Monáe’s post, and praising their mum for being a “supportive parent“.
“This is going to sound really corny to a lot of people, but this actually made me cry,” one person commented. “Not all of us are fortunate to have a parent especially a mom who could be so accepting of their children. I love that she is almost already warning about small minded audience members.”
“This is precious,” said another. “Love and support your children. You know their heart and soul more than any other. Let them flourish. Unconditional love creates stairs, not walls.”
The Age of Pleasure drops on 9 June.
