CBS viewers tuning in to Super Bowl LV who stick around for the series premiere of The Equalizer might be wondering if star Queen Latifah is married or seeing anyone. The answer is complicated. Latifah has always kept her private life highly private, but here’s what we know about her relationship status and what she has said about the rumor that she is gay.
She Doesn’t Confirm or Deny Anything But Says Instead That It’s Private
In a 2008 profile with the New York Times, the interviewer asked Latifah about her sexuality, specifically the rumor that she was involved with a female trainer. Latifah said she doesn’t want to discuss her personal life because that’s for her and her alone.
“I don’t have a problem discussing the topic of somebody being gay, but I do have a problem discussing my personal life,” she said. “You don’t get that part of me. Sorry. We’re not discussing it in our meetings, we’re not discussing it at Cover Girl. They don’t get it, [her friend and manager Shakim Compere] doesn’t get it, nobody gets that. I don’t feel like I need to share my personal life, and I don’t care if people think I’m gay or not. Assume whatever you want. You do it anyway.”
She went on to say that in Hollywood, she doesn’t “roll with a lot of new people.” She keeps her longtime friends and family close and that’s enough.
“I meet a lot of new people, which is fun to me, but I don’t roll with a lot of new people. I’m not Hollywood in a sense that I couldn’t wait to get there and hang out with every actress and rapper and entertainer. I was cool with me before all that. I didn’t need all these new people or famous people to validate my existence. I think that’s been a strength for sure and kept me grounded,” said the rapper and actress.
Latifah Doesn’t Have to Confirm or Deny Anything
In a follow-up discussion of that interview, NPR’s Farai Chideya asked Newsweek’s Allison Samuels about the rumors and Samuels made the observation that Latifah doesn’t have to confirm or deny anything.
“What I love about Latifah is because she is Latifah, and she’s been around for so long, and she does her thing, is that people sort of question it. But I don’t think it impacts her career or her life at all, which I think is great because that’s not always the case,” said Samuels.
She added, “Obviously, she’s been asked it, but her – she sticked to that same answer of, I don’t have to answer that. You don’t need to know, or you don’t have to know what I’m doing in my personal life. I think those rumors are going to persist until she actually says something. But I have a feeling she probably won’t.”
Samuels also said that it can be “tricky” for celebrities to come out, particularly Black celebrities, but that profile was written over 12 years ago.
Latifah’s Rumored Partner is Eboni Nichols
There has been one rumor for years that Latifah is with Eboni Nichols, a former Los Angeles Laker girl. Nichols was a choreographer for Dancing With the Stars and, according to Radar Online, that’s where the two met in 2009, when Latifah was a guest performer. Over the years, the two have been photographed together at the 2020 NBA All-Star Game, the 2016 U.S. Open, traveling together in Paris, France, and at the Film Independent At LACMA special screening of Bessie.
Radar Online also reported the two welcomed a baby in 2019. A source told the publication, “Latifah has never been so full of life! Eboni and the baby have given Latifah something very special to live for.”
The Equalizer premieres directly following Super Bowl 55. Subsequent new episodes will air Sundays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
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