As discussions surrounding Ray Rice’s indefinite suspension from the NFL due to a domestic dispute with his wife continue to bring more awareness to domestic violence, more public figures, including Queen Latifah, are also voicing their opinions on the issue.
During an upcoming episode of “The Queen Latifah Show,” the 44-year-old media maven opened up how domestic abuse has affected her family and inspired the recording to her 1993 hit single, “U.N.I.T.Y.”
“It’s sad to me that this problem is headline news because some football players are involved, because this is something that’s always around,” Latifah said during the segment. “It’s a problem in every part of society. It doesn’t matter if you’re rich, or whether you’re poor. It doesn’t matter what your race is. Where you come from, what language you speak. This is a problem for all of us. And it is not a new problem.”
“21 years ago I wrote the song ‘U.N.I.T.Y.’ about disrespect and violence towards women,” she continued. “That entire second verse of that song was written about my cousin who was in an abusive relationship with her husband, and my brothers and my cousins pretty much had to rescue her from that relationship. But she did get out of that relationship. And so, today I wish I didn’t have to talk about that song. I wish the message in that song wasn’t even relevant today. But it is.”
Check out more of Queen Latifah’s segment, before it airs on Monday, in the clip above.
Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) for the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
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