Queen Latifah recalls once inviting the late Tupac Shakur to a San Francisco gay club early in their careers.
The rapper and star of CBS’s The Equalizer shared the story during a recent episode of the YouTube chat show Hot Ones, on which celebrity guests answer questions about their careers while sampling intensely spicy chicken wings. When host Sean Evans asked about a photo of herself and Shakur that she’d posted on Instagram, Latifah described their friendship when they were both signed to Tommy Boy records in the early 90s.
Related: Queen Latifah is officially out after she sends love to her partner & son during BET awards ceremony
“We toured together so we went all across the country,” said the Grammy and Emmy award winner.
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Latifah, who joined Evans to promote her latest film Hustle, went on to recall a particular New Year’s Eve gig at a “cool gay club” in San Francisco. She says she called Tupac to invite him out to the show.
“I was like, ‘Yo I’m here’, and he’s like ‘Yo I’mma hook up with you,’” she said. “So, Tupac came to the club with me. I was like, ‘Yo, Tupac is in the building!’”
She went on to describe the crowd’s reaction to the hip-hip icon’s legendary physique. “They went crazy in there! I was like, ‘They’re gonna tear you out your clothes!’”
“He took his shirt off anywhere,” Latifah continued. “We had so much fun!”
She also described Tupac as “like my brother.”
“He was the type of person… if he loved you, if he was cool with you, he’d lay his life down for you. So, I miss him, and I love him. Good times!”
“And we were probably… high,” she added.
Latifah came out officially last year after years of media speculation about her sexuality. During the acceptance speech for her BET Lifetime Achievement Award, the Oscar-nominated actor mentioned her longtime partner Eboni Nichols and their son Rebel. She ended her speech by wishing viewers a “Happy Pride!”
More recently, she addressed out rapper Lil Nas X’s frustration over not receiving a single BET Award nominated and his suggestion that his sexuality may have been a factor in the snub.
“Lil Nas X is amazing,” she told TMZ. “He should’ve been nominated. I don’t know if that’s the case. I don’t know what’s behind all that, but inclusion is always the key. That’s what we should be striving for. There’s enough room in this world for everybody.”
