People’s ideas in general are antiquated when it comes to who you love. We haven’t moved as quickly as we probably should. And the reality is that there’s always been gay people in the black community, so it’s not foreign to us. And not just as a black community but just a society as a whole…Who you choose to marry is really up to you and it’s not something you should be judged on. I don’t find being gay or lesbian to be a character flaw. Couples should be protected under the laws of this country period. It actually angers me. It’s not unusual so let’s be adults and let’s move forward.”
— Queen Latifah, who plays the late lady-loving blues legend Bessie Smith in HBO’s Bessie, in an interview with Uptown magazine
Clark35
Then why doesn’t she finally come out as bi, or lesbian then?
Spike
Always more effective when you practice what you preach.
redcarpet30
And yet she still won’t come out.
Realitycheck
She came out her own way, make no mistake, people decisions are their
own, a fake sense of entitlement will not change that.
Captain Obvious
I love when people(especially black people) act like homophobia is only rampant among blacks. I mean everyone is so open that we’re still waiting on marriage equality. Gimme a break with the finger pointing.
Homophobes like r@cists come in every color and no group is more or less guilty than the next.
Realitycheck
@Captain Obvious: True.
Merv
Given the effectiveness of medical science in greatly extending life, waiting for a parent or grandparent to die isn’t always such a great idea.
Arcamenel
Yes let’s talk about black homophobia…not like white homophobia isn’t what created the systemic discrimination we face or anything.
Curty
She speaks like she is totally heterosexual. Gays always been here. Being gay is not a character flaw. This woman perhaps believes that people believe she is straight or she believes in her own mind that she is. I think gay marriage may become legal everywhere and she still won’t come out. I’m starting to think she is convinced she isn’t.
Ron Cameron
Ya think? She’s a les…..thespian from years ago.
odawg
@Arcamenel: Well said!
odawg
She should try making these statements after she comes out.
Cam
It somewhat negates the force of her statement when she is still hiding in the closet.
If nothing is wrong with being gay, then why is she hiding in shame?
Come on out Queen, we love you, you’re a strong woman, and you deserve to not live under that cloud!
Cam
@Arcamenel: said… “Yes let’s talk about black homophobia…not like white homophobia isn’t what created the systemic discrimination we face or anything.”
____________________-
In fairness there is homophobia scattered around the black churches, HOWEVER, let’s look at where the real opposition to gay rights came from.
The Catholic Church (Majority White) and the Mormon Church (Pretty much all white) banded together to fight against Marriage in Hawaii and CA. with the Mormons committing millions of dollars and sending out their members in force during the Prop 8 fight.
then both of those churches funded NOM, the primary agency for pushing anti-gay legislation in multiple states in the last few decades to the tune of more multiple millions of dollars. Most of the anti-gay state laws we are fighting now were originally pushed by that group.
So yeah, there are some homophobic black groups out there, but the organization and hundreds of millions that really set us back did not come from a bunch of black churches.
Daggerman
…funny she said that–though she is correct!–people from many ethnic backgrounds should accept homosexuality–full stop-and accept that others love people of the same sex!
CCTR
Gay, bi, in the closet, out of the closet, black, white… I’m glad that her statements are in support of marriage equality and progressiveness. She’s been relatively successful in the entertainment business and I hope she is happy, at peace, and successful in her private life.
tusgold
when I first went to gay bars I coudnt believe how many blacks were at the bar