Amanda Gorman believes all money isn’t good money.
Read More: Amanda Gorman says speech impediment ‘greatest strength’ during Oprah sit down
The young poet laureate revealed in a conversation with Vogue that she has left millions of dollars on the table because the brand or project was not right for her.
She said she has had roughly $17M in deal offers.
“I didn’t really look at the details, because if you see something and it says a million dollars you’re going to rationalize why that makes sense.”
She added she has trained herself to “be conscious of taking commissions that speak to me.”
As reported by theGrio, Gorman also opened up to the fashion brand about her early beginnings as a poet.
The May issue was released on Wednesday and Gorman dished on everything from how she got her start as a poet to how she decides what projects she will work on.
“Honored to be the first poet EVER on the cover of @voguemagazine , & what a joy to do so while wearing a Black designer, @virgilabloh. This is called the Rise of Amanda Gorman, but it’s truly for all of you, both named & unseen, who lift me up. Love, Amanda,” wrote Gorman to her Twitter page in regards to the Vogue cover announcement.
Gorman gained instant fame after she performed her poem “The Hill We Climb” at the inauguration but told Vogue she started her career on more humble stages.
Some of her early performances were at The Moth, WriteGirl, Urban Word, and conferences like TED Talk. At The Moth performance, she retold the story of when she auditioned for Broadway’s The Lion King.
“My mom had to give me a quarter so I’d sleep past 5 a.m.,” she told the magazine. She added she applied for L.A. Youth Poet Laureate at 16. “I was like, ‘Well, I guess, I’m a poet.’ ”
The young star is also a fan of clothing. Fans gushed over the yellow Prada coat she wore at the inauguration. But Gorman said despite what she wears, her job is not to endorse brands.
“When I’m part of a campaign..the entity isn’t my body, It’s my voice.”
In regards to projects she will agree to work on she said, “I have to be conscious of taking commissions that speak to me.”
“I’m not a BRAND AMBASSADOR or anything!” said Gorman who recently signed to work with modeling agency IMG Models.
She told the magazine that despite all of her mega success she tries not to be too hard on herself.
“I’m trying not to judge myself,” she said. “When you’re someone who’s lived a life where certain resources were scarce, you always feel like abundance is forbidden fruit.”
In a recent conversation with Oprah Winfrey, she revealed her greatest strength. The poet laureate sat down with Winfrey to discuss how her disability has made her journey far from easy, per People.
“I was born early, along with my twin, and a lot of times, for infants, that can lead to learning delays,” said Gorman during an episode of Winfrey’s Apple TV+. show, The Oprah Conversation.
Read More: Dutch poet declines assignment to translate Gorman’s works
“One of my delays was in speech and speech pronunciation, and also the auditory processing issue just means I really struggle as an auditory learner.”
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