STRAIGHT STORY

No, Queen Latifah Did Not Just Come Out Of The Closet

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.

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