Janelle Monáe Talks About Getting Fired From Office Depot On ‘Fallon’: Watch

On Tuesday (December 20), Janelle Monáe stopped by The Tonight Show to promote her new movies Hidden Figures and Moonlight. The R&B pioneer also briefly spoke about her “pushing ink” days at Office Depot, and how she actually ended up getting booted from that job. The reason? She used a computer to respond to a fan who saw her perform on the library steps of the Atlanta University Center.

“I was living in a boarding house with six other girls,” Monáe told show host Jimmy Fallon. “I couldn’t afford my own apartment, selling CDs independently. And I didn’t have a computer. I couldn’t afford it. Office Depot, you guys have like 200 computers on display.”

The singer continued, “Long story short – I respond back to someone who was like, ‘I loved you. I saw you on the library steps – I was one of three people. You were amazing.’ Then this voice of God just came, Office Depot. ‘Janelle Robinson to the back.’ I go back, and my boss said, ‘Listen, we’re gonna make this easy for you: You’re fired. Go do what you love. You don’t wanna be here.'”

This blip only propelled her to pursue her career in music that much more.

“Luckily, it led me to stay focused. Stay focused on what I love,” Monáe concluded.

Watch the conversation below.

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