This weekend, HBO’s Bessie Smith biopic made its debut on TV and fans were treated to a same-sex love scene with Queen Latifah and her female cast mates, which have been getting major attention since before the film’s release. And although some fear the film might be negatively criticized for showing same-sex love scenes, Latifah recently explained that she doesn’t care if her lesbian scenes ruffle a few (or a lot) of feathers.
“You know, people feel a type of way when they see any sexuality on-screen, to me, and I think it’s almost human nature. People are so fascinated by it. There shouldn’t even be a discussion, but it is because people are still curious and people still wonder how they feel about things. At the end of the day, I don’t really care if someone feels uncomfortable about it. It is what it is, and it’s life. So you either deal with it or not, you know? That’s your choice. It’s just part of who she is. I had to tell the story honestly,” Latifah said in an interview with BET.
Latifah, who has been the subject of tabloid questions over her own sexuality, goes on to explain that she hopes fans think about more than just Smith’s sexual partners.
“I hope that it doesn’t become the sole issue because it’s really not just, you know, one thing about Bessie. There [are] so many parts of who she was. [Her sexuality] was just part of it,” Latifah said.
We’re glad that Latifah is so steadfast in telling the truth of Smith’s life and we think that more people will be more open to embracing the film as is, as opposed to being hung up on a same-sex love scene.
