Grammy Award-winning rapper and Academy Award-nominee Queen Latifah is set to headline this year’s annual Lesbian & Gay Pride Festival on May 19 in Long Beach, California.
Queen Latifah (real name Dana Owens) has agreed to headline the Long Beach Lesbian and Gay Pride Festival, making it the first time she has officially performed at such an event, anywhere in the world.
“From Hip-Hop to R&B, Pop to standards, Queen Latifah is the voice of our generation and her concert here will be phenomenal,” said Long Beach Pride Festival co-President Pat Crosby. “For her to make her worldwide Pride debut here in Long Beach is a tremendous testament to the popularity of our celebration and the strength of our community.”
The Long Beach Lesbian and Gay Pride Festival weekend will include numerous workshops, panels and performances.
LGBT friendly artists like Evelyn “Champagne” King and The Village People will also perform during the event.
In previous years the 2-day festival, which is considered as one of the nation’s premiere pride events, has also featured musical performances from the likes of Jennifer Hudson, Mya, and India.Arie.
While speculators continue to spread rumors, performing at this festival is not an admission from Queen Latifah that she is gay.
Since playing Cleo, the brash and proud lesbian in the film “Set It Off”, many have speculated about Latifah’s sexual orientation. Although she’s never said she was gay… or straight, people seemed to assume that her convincing performance hinted at her true self.
In this day and age, many folks think everything celebrities do is up for public debate, but some things are not really any of our business. It’s one thing if they’re constantly on the town with a new boo-of-the-week, but for celebs who value their privacy, it’s courteous not to speculate on who is occupying their time.
Queen Latifah will perform at the 29th annual Long Beach Lesbian and Gay Pride Festival on Saturday, May 19.
