- Album of the year nominee Janelle Monáe performed her single “Make Me Feel” at the Grammys on Sunday.
- During the performance, she said, “Let the vagina have a monologue,” which is a lyric from another of her songs, “Django Jane.”
- She was then joined by dancers who wore pants made to look like vaginas, which also appeared in her music video for “Pynk,” nominated for best music video this year.
- Fans were thrilled with the female-focused performance.
- People also made jokes about older viewers being confused or grossed out.
Janelle Monáe took to the stage at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday to perform her single “Make Me Feel” from her 2018 album “Dirty Computer,” which is nominated for album of the year.
In the midst of the performance, Monáe clearly declared, “Let the vagina have a monologue.” The defiant line is a lyric from another of her songs, “Django Jane.”
Monáe was then joined by dancers who wore pants made to look like vaginas. These pink, flowy pieces were prominently featured in her music video for “Pynk,” which was nominated for best music video this year (and named the second-best video of 2018 by INSIDER).
Read more: RANKED: The 35 best music videos of 2018
Women's rights, LGBTQ visibility, and "black girl magic" were major themes on "Dirty Computer." So while these details may not have seemed bold or particularly shocking for Monáe's fans, they were thrilling, nonetheless.
https://twitter.com/carlyehill12/status/1094772949263933441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
They miraculously let Janelle Monáe perform solo with vagina pant dancers!! #GRAMMYs
— clifford d. lee (@clifforddlee) February 11, 2019
did janelle really say “let the vagina have a monologue” FDKDKSJSJ MY WIFE!!!!
— milkwalker eternal (@spanakopitatchi) February 11, 2019
Janelle Monae brought the Vaginas out and even said the word vagina on national television! I stan a badass queen! #GRAMMYs
— Marion (@Lovekawaiieh) February 11, 2019
janelle monae playing "let the vagina have a monologue" in front of the entire grammy crowd was iconic. love that for us
— haillie (@HaillHEEHEE) February 11, 2019
janelle monae the visionary with the vagina pants
— bee (@notbeatriz) February 11, 2019
https://twitter.com/chasspod/status/1094772443099680769?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Some viewers, however, seemed less than pleased.
#GRAMMYs thought this was a family show. Geez janelle
— Trudie Easterby (@TrudieEasterby) February 11, 2019
Wait. Hang on. Were those vagina pants in Janelle Monae’s set? #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/3FtN6GIumq
— Amanda Matthes (@fancy_pantsxo) February 11, 2019
And still others made jokes about older viewers being confused or grossed out by the dancers' pants or Monáe saying "vagina" on live TV.
https://twitter.com/onlyangeI/status/1094773138393649153?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfwhttps://twitter.com/kguilbault_/status/1094775971775954951?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
My mom during janelle monae’s Grammy performance: this is way too sexual for me
Me, a bisexual: uhh... yeah... totally haha *nervous sweating*
— 👁️ (@vampirerunes) February 11, 2019
You can watch the Grammys live on CBS and see a complete list of the nominees and winners (so far) here.
- Read more of our coverage of the 2019 Grammys:
- Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez blew each other kisses while posing together on the Grammys red carpet and fans couldn't handle it
- Bebe Rexha turned heads in a voluminous red ball gown at the Grammys after saying some designers refused to dress her
- Ariana Grande slams the Grammys for 'lying' about why she won't perform and says the show 'stifled' her 'creativity and self expression'
- The 14 biggest snubs of the 2019 Grammy nominations