Queen Latifah: “Gay is the New Black”

Out of the “is he/she or isn’t he/she” celebrities, Queen Latifah is often mentioned as among the possibly closeted.

Rumors about Latifah’s sexuality have swirled ever since she hit it big, and intensified when she played a lesbian in the popular mid-90’s film Set It Off. The rapper turned actress has also long been suspected of having a relationship with her trainer, Jeanette Jenkins.

Whispers about Latifah’s personal life are intensifying now that the character she plays in Single Ladies has a minor gay subplot:

On Single Ladies, her character discusses the pros and cons of sexual anonymity, saying initially that network executives backed away from her fictional talk show. But later in the episode she returns to Val with a scheme to pretend they’re in a relationship because she’s now discovered that “gay is the new black.” The character reveals, “Being gay is fabulous…I have six new Facebook fan pages. And for every sponsor that falls out, I’ve gotten two more.”

While the question of Latifah’s sexuality is often posed, it shouldn’t override her amazing work. Coming out is a personal decision, and Latifah’s personal life is her own business. Still, a role model like Latifah would be great for gay and lesbian teens struggling with their own coming out issues. Do you think Queen Latifah is gay?