Living Single, about a group of girlfriends). In
Set It Off, her breakout lead role as Cleopatra Sims Cleo, for short Latifah seized her moment in the final act.
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Surrounded by police aiming their guns at her 1962 Impala, Cleo opts for driving into a stream of bullets and a tragic death instead of surrendering. The scene became instantly black cinema canon.
But in a sit-down interview that year, talk-show host Rolonda Watts questioned Latifah’s decision to star as a gangsta lesbian (more the lesbian part than the gangsta thing). “A lotta people are going to say, ‘Queen Latifah is ruining her career playing a lesbian on the movie screen,’ ” Watts said. “Are we ready for that?”