Celebrating Pride: Marcellas Reynolds on Black Excellence
FOX 11’s Christine Devine spoke with Marcellas Reynolds to discuss his 3-book series, Supreme Sirens.
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These are beautiful art books by a multi-talented Angeleno with his own LGBTQ+ backstory. As a gay teen, Marcellas Reynolds says he found acceptance in fashion. For Pride Month, we celebrate Reynolds as an example of finding success beyond childhood bullies and abuse.
The multi-talented Reynolds got his TV start on Big Brother, season three, and notes he was the first openly gay Black man cast on a major network reality series.
His art books are about Black icons and women who revolutionized music, acting, and modeling. The series is called Supreme Sirens, Supreme Actresses, and Supreme Models. On Hollywood, he says, “There’s no (art) book about Black actresses.”
Earlier this year, Reynolds appeared on FOX 11’s Good Day LA, outside his usual role as a fashion critic. He was there to be interviewed about book number three on women in music. Missy Elliot, the first rapper to be honored in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, is on the cover.
He’s been doing book signings all around the country. One buyer said, “It helps us understand more about the women in our culture and the pride we should have in them.” A young African-American woman said, “I feel that my life would have been so much better had I grown up with these books.” Reynolds’ LGBTQ backstory is raw and real. In book number one, Supreme Models, he writes, “I grew up on Chicago’s Southside…there were drugs, gangs, and violence. Nothing is worse in an African American neighborhood than being the gay kid. A good day was not being beaten up or bullied.” Reynolds has been a longtime advocate for gay pride.
As for the books, he says, “I hope people are reading the books and not just looking at them.” He writes about women who inspire him. “The words are so beautiful and so important,” he said. Supreme Models led to a six-part documentary on the Black model on Vogue’s YouTube channel. In his introduction to the book, he writes, “In the fashion world as a gay teen, I found acceptance.”
Marcellas became a model himself, traveling the world.
The Supreme book series is meant to inspire “especially little Black girls who need to see these books, who need to see themselves represented.” Book two is Supreme Actresses. On the cover is EGOT winner Viola Davis. “Viola is the gold standard,” he exclaims. What’s next for the Supreme universe? Reynolds says he’s working on museum exhibitions partnering with artist Mickalene Thomas, whom FOX 11 also profiled.