Queen Latifah Exposes Hollywood’s Harsh Reality on Body Image — And Her Powerful Response

Queen Latifah has always been a force—on stage, on screen, and now, in the ongoing battle against the stigma surrounding obesity. At 55, the award-winning rapper, actress, and advocate is using her voice for a cause that hits heartbreakingly close to home.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Latifah shares the personal loss that fuels her mission: the death of her cousin, who struggled for years with morbid obesity and its related health challenges. “I watched her fight for her life for years, dealing with cardiovascular issues and blood clots,” Latifah says. “She probably had gone through it the most severely, but I was looking at various big members of my family, including myself, and we all need this information. It’s relative to each one of us.”

That lived experience drives Latifah’s partnership with Novo Nordisk, a collaboration that began in 2021 to help dismantle the misconceptions about obesity and educate people about its very real connection to cardiovascular disease. “Our mission is to make sure people understand that obesity is a disease, not some kind of character flaw,” she explains. “It’s an epidemic in the U.S., and it affects two out of five Americans. That’s a lot of people, and it disproportionately affects people of color.”

Latifah points out that the damaging impact of stigma isn’t always loud—it’s often found in the “small” comments and jokes that accumulate, leaving lasting wounds. In her recent social media campaign with Novo Nordisk, she addresses the subtle but persistent bias that surrounds those living with obesity. “It’s a chronic disease, but it’s a manageable disease,” she says, urging Americans to visit TruthAboutWeight.com for information, resources, and tools for having honest conversations with doctors.

The website, TruthAboutWeight, connects the dots between obesity and heart health, while offering guidance on everything from measuring BMI to understanding cultural factors in body image. It also features real-life confessionals and personalized reports to help people better advocate for their own health during doctor’s visits.

“Everybody who’s obese is not even an overweight person visually,” Latifah stresses. “There are some numbers you have to look at as well. That’s why it’s so important to get in your doctor’s office and see where you actually stand, because the visuals don’t always line up.”

Latifah is also candid about the pressures of image—especially for entertainers. As someone who transitioned from hip-hop to acting, she’s intimately familiar with the camera’s distortions and Hollywood’s harsh expectations. “A camera puts 10, 15 pounds more weight on you than you actually are in real life… You have to even mentally push past that,” she says, noting that her years of authenticity on stage prepared her to withstand Hollywood’s scrutiny.

Through it all, Latifah’s message is one of self-knowledge and compassion. “You got to know who you are,” she says. For Queen Latifah, advocating for health is not about chasing a certain body type—but about saving lives, breaking stigma, and empowering people to seek the help and information they deserve.

As she continues to honor her cousin’s memory and her own journey, Queen Latifah is determined to ensure that no one has to fight their battle alone—or in silence.