Lupita Nyong’o was in New York last night to receive her Glamour Woman of the Year Award. She wore white and gold. She was a goddess. The right kind of goddess – with responsibilities.
“I am still a work in progress,” she told the audience. “To be woman is to be human. And to be human is to seek perfection and to find joy in never obtaining it.”
Few celebrities are so comfortable being examples. Good examples. Role models. Either they wear it and the take it off, claiming they never wanted it in the first place, or they indignantly refuse it because it offends their artistry, or whatever.
Not Lupita. Lupita has accepted that burden – and it IS a burden – with grace and willingness, understanding that no true honour is without weight, and she is happy to bear it. I believe she is happy to bear it because she’s genuinely committed to being better herself and doing better for others. A lot of people say it, not sure if a lot of people really mean it.