Actress and music icon Queen Latifah and the cast of Living Single was asked to lose weight. The Equalizer star discussed the issue on Entertainment Tonight on October 7.
Latifah spoke with journalist Nischelle Turner about destigmatizing obesity. The actress mentioned to Turner about the time the cast of her hit sitcom, Living Single, was told to lose weight.
“I can remember specifically doing Living Single and the word came down that we needed to lose weight,” she said. “Here we are, four different women, four different body types and we needed to lose weight. If anything it angered me and disheartened me, but it really angered me. I said, ‘We are what women look like, we’re not going to lose weight for whoever’s idea of what we’re supposed to look like.'”
The 50-year-old also revealed that she was always the biggest girl at her school and was teased. Now, she is partnering with the “It’s Bigger Than Me” campaign to tackle how society shames people for their weight and appearance. The campaign will clear up misconceptions about obesity and teach how genetics and biology are involved.
“A lot of us have had that,” said Latifah about fat-shaming. “So, I just want people to know, it’s not your fault. It’s bigger than us, it’s bigger than you, it’s bigger than me. You can yo-yo diet all you want. I’ve done it, I’ve been judged for my weight, I thought about my weight over and over sometimes. But some things are out of my control and it took someone teaching me that in order for me to understand it. So now I’m partnering with the ‘It’s Bigger Than Me’ campaign so other people can understand it, and hopefully other people will join in and just have a conversation about it.”
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Latifah is proud of how she looks now, and her hit-action television show The Equalizer keeps her in great shape and lookin’ good.
“I’m actually proud to be able to say, ‘Yes, I’m 50 years old and this is what we look like and this is who we are and this is what we can really be,'” she said. “There’s never been enough in our area for us, you know. I’m sexy, I’m feeling good, my body’s right and my swag is on, you know. I’m feeling myself. And guess what, I might be a little obese but I’m gonna work on it and I’m gonna keep it in check because I’m on it. We are naturally beautiful, sexual creatures and we live and that is life, so I’m really proud to be doing this project right now at this point in my life. I’m grateful.”
The Equalizer returned for season 2 on CBS on October 10 at 8 p.m. EST.
