by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

March 22, 2023

Usher Stops Show to Give Queen Latifah Her Flowers—Literally

R&B superstar Usher recently acknowledged the Queen while performing at his popular Las Vegas residency at the Dolby Live at Park MGM.

According to HipHopDX, the My Way crooner was doing his show March 18 when he paused briefly to acknowledge Queen Latifah’s birthday. He headed into the audience and handed Latifah some flowers and a hug. The multi-hyphenated star and pride of Jersey was celebrating her 53rd birthday.

The crowd gave a standing ovation as one of her best-known recordings, the 1993 song,”U.N.I.T.Y,” blared in the background.

Latifah, the star and executive producer of the dramatic series The Equalizer, has been a force in movies, TV, and music for decades. And she’s not slowing down one bit.

Last week, it was reported the New Jersey native is opening up more chances for filmmakers, specifically women of color, to express their stories through the Queen Collective. The initiative has been developed in partnership with Procter & Gamble, her company, Flavor Unit Entertainment, and Tribeca Studios.

Forbes reported the program will offer women filmmakers of color the opportunity to develop and showcase their short films in an effort to amplify gender, racial equality, and representation in the industry.

“We created this partnership, the Queen Collective, to give women of color an opportunity to create, produce, direct, and have financing for their short film and distribution. We’ll take care of everything from beginning to end and allow them to create their vision,” Latifah said.

The Queen Collective started in 2019. It provides mentorship, production support, distribution opportunities, and essential financial resources to innovative filmmakers.

Variety reported the Queen Collective has been instrumental in helping approximately 100 people find work in the industry, noting that 75% were people of color.


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