Zendaya has no problem letting someone know when a question doesn't feel right, and this knack for expressing herself is among the many reasons fans adore her.
The 24-year-old Emmy winner is featured on the cover of this month's Vanity Fair for its annual Hollywood Issue, appearing alongside such fellow A-listers as Michael B. Jordan and Charlize Theron.
As part of the feature that was released online Tuesday, Feb. 23, Zendaya took part in the publication's video series The Proust Questionnaire, answering 35 probing queries about her life and personality. One of the questions was, "What is the quality you most like in a man?" and the Euphoria performer quickly rephrased it so it wouldn't be gendered.
"I most like in a person, how about that?" Zendaya replied.
But being the accommodating interview subject that she is, the Malcolm & Marie star nonetheless put real thought into the question and still provided a revealing response.
"It's such a big question," she continued. "What is the quality I most like in someone? I would say, 'kindness' is kind of not the best way to describe it, but some people are just good people, and you can just feel it. And I don't know how to explain that, but there's this little spark they have, or this little special thing that they have, that just you feel safe and happy around them. I don't know what that is, but some people have it, and it's special."
Vanity Fair's following question was, "What is the quality you most like in a woman?" However, the star didn't have much more to add, so she said with a laugh, "Well, I guess that's the same answer."
Hopefully, society can continue moving away from gender expectations and boundaries, and Zendaya is certainly doing her part, one gentle correction at a time.
Check out the moment in the above video, beginning around the 3:10 mark.