Overview
- In Rolling Stone’s Musicians on Musicians, Monáe said they went to the 1970s to see David Bowie perform Ziggy Stardust and described being backstage before returning to the 2000s inspired to build community around transformation and queerness.
- Lucy Dacus appeared taken aback in the exchange, repeating the question about traveling back as Monáe kept a straight face.
- The snippet posted to TikTok quickly drew about a quarter‑million views, with commenters split between taking the story literally and reading it as sarcasm or mythmaking.
- Entertainment Weekly, Out, and PinkNews highlighted the exchange and situated it within Monáe’s long-standing futurist storytelling, including references to the android alter ego Cindi Mayweather.
- Coverage notes that Monáe identifies as non-binary and uses all pronouns, and outlets present the time-travel story as an anecdote without independent corroboration.