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Queen Latifah opened up about her weight issues over the years and how she felt when she discovered she was obese.
In a conversation on The Red Table Talk, she shared that she was "mad" when she discovered she was overweight.
"I was like, 'no' because I did not see myself that way. That word brings a connotation with it.
"It is about the shame, the stigma attached to weight. How they talk about you, the little words they drop. I think if people understood it more, it could change the conversation," she said.
"I have been publicly scrutinised, I think, my whole career. You know what I mean?
"I just came out the door looking different," Queen Latifah said.
READ MORE | Body positivity: Why you need to be kind to yourself and others
She revealed she has struggled with self-sabotage and negative self-talk as a teenager.
"At 18, I had to make a decision, I said, I'm either going to hate myself, or I am going love myself."
Early in her career, she and the cast members of Living Single, who were black women, were 'told' they had to lose weight.
But her weight struggles did not make her put her talents on hold. She has become a Hollywood star regardless of the beauty standards imposed by society.
READ MORE | Why are we never happy with our bodies?
The Girls' Trip actress is an ambassador for a campaign called It's Bigger Than Me.
Queen Latifah added that it is such an opportune time to talk about this subject. "I am on a mission right now to change the stigma associated with obesity," she said.
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