Queen Latifah is gracing the cover of Variety magazine this month and is opening up…. a little.
The mogul star talked about the beginning of her career, her latest project Bessie which aired on HBO, and the non-stop speculation about her sexuality.
Peep what she had to say below:
From the very beginning of her career, expanding beyond music:
I felt like if I couldn’t say I was the best rapper — male or female — I wouldn’t put all my eggs in one basket. So it was always about trying to expand from the beginning, be it musically, business-wise, or other opportunities.
The resistance she received in the 90’s for being a rapper, transitioning to acting:
Actors did not like it. A lot of them talked a lot of smack (at the time) about rappers coming in and taking all the gigs.
Being able to connect with the life of Bessie Smith:
I could relate to crawling up out of a bottle. I could relate to being depressed. I could connect to a lot of different experiences that she had, whether it was loneliness, whether it was being hugely successful, (experiencing) heartbreak, love, being in different relationships, being in more than one relationship at one time. All these things made sense to me.
Taking on a bi-sexual role in Bessie:
I know what I’m doing in my private life, and I know what I’m not, and I know me. And people who are not privy to that don’t know; they don’t know what they think they know. This is Bessie’s story. It has nothing to do with my life…..There’s a difference for me between being honest and sharing my business with people who don’t need to know my business. So why would I start doing anything differently now because of ‘Bessie’?
Why she feels there’s so much speculation about sexuality:
I think it’s human nature. People have curiosity about people’s sexuality, because we’re curious about sex. I think the problem is we don’t talk about it enough. We act like sex is bad sometimes. We act like love is bad sometimes, or makes you weak somehow.
Avoiding the scrutiny of tabloids:
At some point I told all my friends, ‘Don’t come to me with negative stuff in a magazine’. Let them write whatever they want to write. I can’t control it.
Where she draws the line with the media/tabloids:
Don’t write about her family. Then I’m ready to not only sue you, but put a knuckle sandwich in your mouth. That’s where my Jersey roots come out!
