Janelle Monae joined Tessa Thompson at the Annihilation premiere last week. They also went to the Black Panther premiere together. For a while now there’s been speculation as to whether or not they’re dating. And a lot of people who really want them to be dating. This is a conversation I’ll be pitching to Duana on Show Your Work: is it true equality when we can ship a same sex relationship? Because so far, there’s no real evidence that Tessa and Janelle are more than just friends. But we do this all the time when it’s a woman and a man situation, like Lupita and MBJ, and Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, hanging out and giving us all kinds of material for fan fiction. If we do this more then, does that become a normalisation that might lead to greater acceptance? 

Tessa and Janelle have been friends for a while. Here they are at an event together in 2015: 

They hang out a lot. And a lot lately. 

Is it only because they’ve been working together though? Janelle just announced her new album the other day, Dirty Computer. Tessa’s in the trailer which screened in select theatres before Black Panther: 

 

Now you know why people are shipping them. They’re HOT. 

Attached – Tessa at the BAFTAs the other night where she was nominated for the Rising Star Award, which went to Daniel Kaluuya. Her date that night was Marai Larisi, the executive director of Imkaan. Marai was previously at the Golden Globes in January with Emma Watson. As you know, both Emma and Tessa have been actively involved in Time’s Up, with Tessa assuming a leadership role both in organisation meetings and in her own career decisions. She was the one who, during the Marvel 10 year anniversary class photo, went right up to Kevin Feige and pitched him an all-female superhero movie alongside Scarlett Johansson, Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan, and Brie Larson. We could use a standalone Valkyrie movie too, right? Tessa Thompson, always, showing her work.