After every binge session I watch of Living Single, that nineties sitcom that followed four friends living it up in a Brooklyn, N.Y. brownstone, I often wonder, whatever happened to this fantastic four? With A Different World claiming its reboot, isn’t it about time we got Khadijah James, Synclaire James, Regine Hunter and Maxine “Max” Shaw back together?
Queen Latifah is down for the experience.
“We’ve been talking about it for years. Everybody is doing so many different things, but if we could line us all up at the same time,” she theorized while chatting with EBONY. “We all love each other enough to do it again, that I can say, we all are still friends.”
Queen Latifah has been revisiting the series vibes since listening to the ReLiving Single podcast, hosted by her former co-stars and pals Erika Alexander and Kim Coles.
“We’re all on a group chat, and watching Erica and Kim is just giving me everything I need because you are getting a glimpse into what actually happened throughout these years,” Latifah exclaimed. “You’re gonna get the stories. We had a lot of fun doing that show.”
She even knows what Khadijah would be doing in 2025. “She will hopefully be retired by now. I mean, damn how long you gotta run a company,” she joked. “She probably got eight grandchildren by now…with Scooter?”
While we’ll have to wait for that answer, one thing Latifah is standing ground on right now is how obesity is affecting millions of Americans. And she’s taken action. She has partnered with Novo Nordisk to address the challenges faced by individuals living with obesity.
“I don’t know if everyone knows that 70 percent of people living with obesity die from cardiovascular disease,” Latifah exclaimed. “That is significant. If they are aware, then they can start to take a different course of action: talking to their physician and finding out what can be done to manage and change the situation.”
Dr. Veronica R. Johnson, an obesity medicine specialist at Northwestern Medicine’s Center for Lifestyle Medicine, agrees. “Obesity is a serious chronic disease associated with at least 60 other serious health conditions,” she shared.
“It’s important for people living with obesity to talk to a healthcare professional to understand their risks and partner on the best way to approach their weight and health. In fact, in one study, people who partnered with a healthcare professional lost more weight than individuals who did it alone. Even losing 5% or more of your body weight can improve certain heart disease risk factors.”
Queen Latifah also highlighted the often-unseen emotional toll obesity can have on people, noting that the casual humor of others can be damaging. “You crack jokes, but you are really hurting someone’s feelings and creating more stigma, more shame, more bias.” I can be isolating for those struggling, she asserted. “People living with obesity are living, fighting this battle alone and living with feelings that they shouldn’t have to deal with alone or feeling shame. This empowers you with information to make a difference.”
Working in the entertainment industry, which can put such an emphasis on weight loss, Latifah understands the pressure, but emphasized, “I represent for a lot of my people out there, and I’ve never been ashamed of myself, ashamed of my body.”
Her ultimate goal for those struggling with obesity is simple. “If you are healthy, then the world is yours.”
