The blogosphere was abuzz yesterday that Queen Latifah—actress, singer, spokesmodel, mogul—had announced to the world she was a lesbian. She may very well be, but she hasn’t come out.
The rumors started when the blog Sandra Rose ran a post on Friday with the headline “Queen Latifah Comes out of the Closet (Finally).” But the item was actually about how Latifah is headlining Long Beach Pride on May 19 (something we mentioned back in April). Some may take the Oscar nominee’s presence at her first LGBT event as a signal to those who know to look, but it’s a far cry from a “Yep, I’m gay” magazine cover.
Long Beach Pride co-president Pat Crosby said of the entertainer:
From hip to R&B, pop to standards, Queen Latifah is the voice of our generation, and her concert here will be phenomenal, for her to make her worldwide Pride debut here in Long Beach is a tremendous testament to the popularity of our celebration and to the strength of our community.
Nope, don’t see any coming out there. Did we miss something? Even Latifah’s Twitter feed is mum on the subject. (She is, however, excited about finishing her latest CoverGirl photo shoot with Dan Jackson.)
So, was it wishful thinking, a misunderstanding or a ploy for attention that caused so many blogs to pick up the story? We’ll leave that to you to decide. But gay or straight, the Queen doesn’t deserve any special applause for performing at a Pride festival. The days when that meant something—when a celebrity was putting anything on the line by supporting the LGBT community—were back when she was tearing up carpet it Set it Off.
TJ
She still performs on stage these days and is the voice of a generation? Please.
cam
I actually like QL, I even liked her cheesy movie “Last Holiday” and of course she was fantastic in Set It OFf.
My issue is that, if she is going to stay in the closet, I may not agree but that is her choice…but I do feel that it is a bit hypocritical and somewhat insluting for somebody too ashamed to come out to play an event that is all about “PRIDE”.
I’ll wait to hear just how proud she was at the performance.
nikz
I like QL as an actress 😀 she’s made me laugh and smile alot^^ so i think she’s done well 😀
but can people PLEASE stop poking into a persons orientation? celebrity or not…
it’s really…really…annoying..
this is actually really private for most…..not everyone wanna wave a flag to everyone..
i like QL for what she’s done/doing….
aren’t we all trying to say that orientation doesnt matter? the person matters?
kinda hypocritic when you’re all trying to push a person out…dont you think? …
Spike
Woohoo, LB Pride, Sat. headliner is the closeted lesbian singer and Sunday the Village People. Given last years hassles getting a beer, as I recall, multiple lines and ID checks to first get script, then more lines and ID checks to buy a beer from a reduced number of beer selling locations, seems pointless.
Kevin
If she were to perform at NYC or SF Pride, she would probably be booed off stage for being a closet “Queen”. Her coyness is nasty.
LadyL
Yeah, this is the Matt Bomer thing all over again. Irritating. She may (or may not) be trying to signal us with this appearance, but she’s not out and she’s not coming out.
MKisNE
Alright so the President did his part but she hasn’t. So not watching anything that involves QL in the future.
Ealan14
I saw the Sandra Rose piece and thought the same thing. Nowhere in there did it say QUeen was gay or coming out. and as far as performing at Pride’s go, Straight’s perform at Pride’s all the time.
Queen Latifah will say whatever she needs to say to the world when its the right time for her. I totally support that!!