Cousins!

In an initiative to amplify conversations educating folks of body positivity verses body shaming, Queen Latifah is opening up to the public for the very first time about her personal journey of health and instances she underwent prior to her career taking off and even after!

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Latifah recalled that back in the early 90s while shooting the legendary series Living Single, higher ups insisted that she alongside other cast members drop a couple pounds.

“I can remember specifically doing ‘Living Single’ and the word came down that we needed to lose weight. Here we are, four different women, four different body types, and we needed to lose weight,” said Latifah.

She says that though she was shocked by the comments made that she instantly remembered taking up for her fellow cast mates of Kim Fields, Erika Alexander and Kim Coles.

“If anything, it angered me and disheartened me, but it really angered me,” says Latifah, ‘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 legendary artist and actress is currently hard at work fighting against the stigma of obesity to educate people that it is a condition and not always necessarily due to an unhealthy living.

There are so many things being discussed openly from mental health to all kinds of other things, why not tackle obesity?” says Latifah. “Why not talk about that openly? Because it’s something that comes up. But I think obesity is always connected to a stigma, to shame. And what we want to do is just really educate people about what it really is, which is a health condition.”

A lot of us have had that [shame], 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,” she continues to explain. “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.”

Fast forward to today Latifah says, “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.”