Alanis Morissette publicly identifies as pansexual on Handsome podcast
The 52-year-old singer confirmed her sexuality in a candid, lighthearted exchange on the Handsome podcast — the first time she has used the term publicly, though she has discussed attraction to women for years.
Alanis Morissette came out as pansexual on November 3, 2026, during an appearance on the Handsome podcast — hosted by Tig Notaro, Fortune Feimster, and Mae Martin — putting a specific label on a facet of her identity she had discussed in interviews for nearly two decades without ever naming it that way.
The moment arrived near the end of the episode, almost as an aside. Feimster told Morissette she was sorry for the men who had hurt her but not for the songs those experiences had produced, then asked, jokingly, whether it had ever made her want to be a lesbian.
I'm pansexual, so, yeah, I get everything.— Alanis Morissette, singer-songwriter
A surprised Notaro asked whether she had heard correctly. Morissette confirmed: 'I am.' When Notaro suggested she should have led with that, Morissette kept the tone light.
I like to leave it for the epilogue.— Alanis Morissette, singer-songwriter
According to Newsweek, this is the first time Morissette has explicitly described herself as pansexual in public — but it is far from the first time she has addressed the subject. In a 2008 interview with The Advocate, she reflected on exploring her sexuality, calling it 'a beautiful rite of passage,' and added: 'I did exactly that. And it was great!' She also described a lifelong closeness to the LGBTQ+ community, noting that her first manager was gay and that she was going to New York nightclubs with him at age 14.
Marca notes that around the same period, Morissette had also described herself as 'quite heterosexual' in comments summarized from a Howard Stern radio appearance — illustrating how her public framing of her own sexuality has evolved over time.
More recently, in a September 2026 appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast, Morissette said she had personally proposed the same-sex kiss between her character Dawn and Sarah Jessica Parker's Carrie Bradshaw in a 2000 episode of Sex and the City.
I reached out to them, and I said, 'Might it be a nice time for Carrie to experience a lesbian moment?'— Alanis Morissette, singer-songwriter
According to Morissette, the show's team told her they had been thinking along the same lines.
Pansexuality, as defined by LGBTQ advocacy organization GLAAD, describes 'the capacity to form enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attractions to people of all genders or to people regardless of gender.' GLAAD places it within the broader bisexual, or bi+, umbrella alongside terms like bisexual and fluid, noting that the labels can overlap and that individuals choose the term that best fits their own experience.
Why it matters — Morissette's disclosure adds her name to a growing number of public figures using specific language to describe their sexuality, and reframes a conversation about her identity that has been unfolding in public interviews since at least 2008.
⚠ Not yet confirmed
- Morissette described herself as 'quite heterosexual' in comments on Howard Stern's radio show around 2008.
- specific reference to Billboard reporting the story (not present in provided sources)
Reported by newsweek.com, billboard.com, marca.com
- Alanis MorissetteCanadian-American singer (born 1974)
- Sarah Jessica ParkerAmerican actress (born 1965)
- Howard SternAmerican radio and television personality (born 1954)
