Amandla Stenberg has come out as gay

She said: “I’m grateful for how being gay has afforded me this ability to experience and understand love and sex, and therefore life, in an expansive and infinite way.

“My sexuality is not a byproduct of my past experiences with men, who I have loved, but rather a part of myself I was born with and love deeply.

“I was so overcome with this profound sense of relief when I realised that I’m gay – not bi, not pan, but gay – with a romantic love for women. All of the things that felt so internally contrary to my truest self were rectified as I unraveled a long web of denial and self-deprivation.”

The ‘Hunger Games’ star was “flooded with a sense of calm and peace” when she came out to those close to her, as she felt as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Speaking to Wonderland magazine, Amandla said: “I was flooded with a sense of calm and peace because everything that I struggled with or felt discomfort around finally made sense to me. And once those floodgates opened and years of pent up pain and shame were released, I found the freedom to live my best life waiting for me just underneath.”

Amandla also celebrated on Instagram where she shared a series of pictures from her photoshoot for the publication, and said she was “proud” to have come out.

She wrote: “OUT & PROUD.

“So happy to say the words Yep, I’m Gay in official print. Interviewed for @wonderlandby someone I stan infinitely – the fiercest garbagio pop queen @kingprincess69. Thank you to KP for providing me with such a safe space to come out. We talk about gay sobbing, first encounters with lesbian masturbation, queer icons, Toni Morrison, disillusionment as a critical step, the art I’ve been working on, and the films that I have coming out this year. Full interview on newsstands now and available online Monday. (sic)”