'Hunger Games' Star Amandla Stenberg Comes Out as Bisexual: 'It's Deeply Bruising to Fight Against Your Identity'

"As someone who identifies as a black, bisexual woman I've been through it," she said

Photo: Michael Buckner/Getty

Amandla Stenberg, best known for her role as Rue in The Hunger Games, has come out as bisexual.

The actress, 17, opened up about her sexuality while appearing on Teen Vogue‘s Snapchat account on Thursday, following the reveal of her first cover for the magazine. She later tweeted out a link to the clip on Friday.

Stenberg started the video by speaking of the importance of representation, saying, “It’s deeply bruising to fight against your identity and mold yourself into shapes you just shouldn’t be in.” http://amandla.tumblr.com/post/136866720678/so-i-took-over-the-teen-vogue-snapchat-today

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She went on to explain: “As someone who identifies as a black, bisexual woman I’ve been through it, and it hurts, and it’s awkward and it’s uncomfortable”

She credits other strong black females who have spoken out about their sexuality for giving her the bravery to do the same and embrace her true self.

“But then I realized because of Solange [Knowles] and Ava DuVernay and Willow [Smith] and all the black girls watching this right now, that there’s absolutely nothing to change.”

She ends with a call for more diversity in Hollywood, and emphasizing the importance of overall acceptance.

“We cannot be suppressed. We are meant to express our joy and our love and our tears and be big and bold and definitely not easy to swallow,” she said.

“Here I am being myself and it’s definitely hard and vulnerable and it’s definitely a process but I’m learning and I’m growing.”