Most of us remember when rapper/actress, Queen Latifah, played the hell outta her “Cleo” character in Set It Off. The way her lesbian character busted her guns during the bank robberies and kissed her mute girlfriend, was one of the most convincing roles in movie history. In fact, it was almost a lil’ too convincing and kicked off what would become a never-ending rumor mill of real-life lesbian allegations for Queen.

Although Latifah has never confirmed, nor denied, the homosexual rumors (nor the several seemingly affectionate photos of herself in public with females at times), many would argue that Latifah confirming she’s a lesbian would be about as “shocking” as Kim Kardashian ‘confirming’ she likes Black dudes with money — an allegation Kim’s never denied nor confirmed either. But I digress…

Point is! Queen Latifah had a problem playing her “Cleo” role, and here’s what she revealed about that in a prior  interview.

Embed from Getty Images

Although many of us enjoyed watching Queen Latifah kill it with her Cleo role (even the way Latifah “died” as “Cleo” in the film was profound), what we didn’t know at that time, was that it was the toughest role for her to portray, according to what Latifah revealed to actress, Tracy Ellis Ross, who interviewed her for In Style magazine:

TER: Were there any career decisions that were particularly hard to make?

Queen Latifah: When I got the role of amateur bank robber Cleo Sims in Set It Off, I sat down with my younger siblings and told them, “Listen, I’m playing a gay character. Your classmates might tease you or say negative things about it. But I’m doing it because I believe I can bring positive attention to the gay African-American community, and I believe that I can do a great job as an actor.” They understood, and when those things inevitably happened in school, they were OK with it.

So as you can see, the role wasn’t tough for Latifah because it was a lesbian role…it was tough because she was worried about affecting her family with it. This again, will probably drive those rumor mills into overdrive, yet again. I can just see it now: ‘Latifah is comfortable with lesbian Cleo character because she IS “Cleo”‘…

Quite frankly, we, here at I Love Old School Music, love Latifah – lesbian, straight, bi, or try-sexual (a word we learned from Tevin Campbell’s interview). She has, and always will be, one of the most versatile actresses in the game. And to witness how far she’s come with her multi-talented career – ever since her 1989 “Ladies First” days – deserves a round of applause! The only problem I have in all of this, is that in my opinion, Latifah is just as gifted as her fellow rapper-turned-actor, Will Smith, but she has yet to earn $20 million-per-movie acting gigs…that’s the real controversy…not whether, or not she’s a lesbian…just saying. 🤷🏽‍♂️

The post Queen Latifah Confessed Why It Was Tough For Her To Play Lesbian “Cleo” In ‘Set It Off’ appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

None of us knew this actress’ name, but anyone who has seen Set It Off remembers her face. Her name is Samantha and she played the role of “Cleo’s” (Queen Latifah) mute girlfriend, “Ursula,” in the ’96 film. All she did was kiss Queen Latifah and never talked. Remember how Queen Latifah had everyone talking when her “Eve” look-alike girlfriend was giving her a sexy lap dance/tease after “Cleo” and her girls robbed the bank? “Cleo” had tricked out her car and bought “Ursula” some new lingerie and after their convincing romance, the questions started circulating about Latifah’s sexuality and the “Ursula” actress’ whereabouts (since no one had pretty much seen her since).

After watching Set It Off again recently for what seems like my 100th time (okay, not really 100 times…but the number’s high up there), we decided to do a lil’ bit of research on Samantha. What we found out was that all these years have gone by and we never knew that this well known actress from the ‘60s, ‘70s and beyond, is her mother. If you’ve watched you’re an avid Good Times or Star Trek fan, you probably remember her mother’s roles well.

Who’s The ‘Muted Girlfriend’s’ Mother In Real Life?

The “Set It Off” mute’s mother is none other than Janet MacLachlan. Remember her? She was the actress who appeared on the “Florida Gets a Job” episode of Good Times when Gary Coleman snatched her wig off of her head and she yelled, “Oh! I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life?!!” That scene was CLASSIC and who would have ever thought that her lil’ girl would end up being “Cleo’s” girlfriend some twenty plus years later?!!

Check out Janet’s and Gary Coleman’s infamous Good Times scene below…

Janet also starred in several other roles, such as an episode of the series, I Spy, where she appeared alongside Bill Cosby as one of the prettiest double agents we’d ever seen. She was on the Alfred Hitchcock Hour show, Barney Miller, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Monkey’s Paw, The Invaders, The FBI, Ironside, The Mod Squad, The Name of the Game, The Sounder, Murphy’s Law, the Boy Who Could Fly, and several other films and TV shows throughout her 50+ year career.

Samantha MacLachlan is Janet’s only daughter and there was not been any mention of who her father is.

Sadly, Janet passed away at the age of 77 in 2010 from complications due to a cardiovascular disease. She was living in Los Angeles at the time of her death.

As far as Samantha, she is now 50 years old and we’re not sure what she’s up to nowadays. After starring in a few more projects such as television series Once and Again, NYPD Blue, JAG, the films, Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story (1996) and Tear It Down (1997) and of course Set It Off, she pretty much retreated from the spotlight and lives a quiet non-celebrity type of life. But she’ll never be able to hide the fact that she was the woman who played the lesbian mute girlfriend of Queen Latifah in Set It Off, nor should she want to – her role added a great dynamic to that ‘90s cult classic. It’s understandable why she was so convincing with her Ursula role now, acting is in her blood and her beloved mother, Janet MacLachlan, did an excellent job passing the torch to her daughter.

-ILoveOldSchoolMusic, old school news with a new point of view

The post Queen Latifah’s ‘On-Screen Girlfriend’ In “Set It Off” Has A Legendary ’70s Actress Mom appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Chaz Shepherd (@handsomechaz)

THIS “SET IT OFF” ACTOR IS NOW A SINGER…AND A GOOD ONE!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Chaz Shepherd (@handsomechaz)

Chaz Shepherd is a professional singer. Who knew he could sing?!! Hold up, let me rephrase that, this dude doesn’t just sing, he SANGS. FYI: that’s not a typo…he really is a SANGIN’ somebody! Chaz performs regularly and he released an album titled, “Love & Truth.” He’s also performed in theatrical productions, including the musical, “Dreamgirls.”

The “Set It Off” actor also cuts UP in concert with his band, Chard…

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Chaz Shepherd (@handsomechaz)

Then there are the bomb Old School tribute videos Chaz shares with his fans online, just as he did for the following Donny Hathaway tribute…

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Chaz Shepherd (@handsomechaz)

Now it makes me wonder if that was really him singing on “The Temptations” movie…before today, I assumed his movie vocals were the workings of a voice-over, but…they’re probably not.

Meet His Daughter

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Chaz Shepherd (@handsomechaz)

Chaz loves spending some daddy-daughter time with his beautiful little girl, Harlem.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Chaz Shepherd (@handsomechaz)

And when he’s not spending time with his adorable mini-me, he’s encouraging others to do the same as he does: ‘create balance between doing what you want and doing what you need…so you can do what you want.’

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Chaz Shepherd (@handsomechaz)

So, ILOSM fam’ as you can see, Chaz Shepherd is still doing his thing today and pushin’ forward with his passions in life. That’s a beautiful thing indeed.

The post This “Set It Off” Actor Can Sing Like Nobody’s Business…And His Daughter’s Adorable appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

The 1996 classic film, “Set It Off,” had us all rooting for the underdogs. Despite the fact that the ladies were bank robbers, they were 4 friends from the hood of Los Angeles trying to make it. It’s a story of friendship that starred Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox, Kimberly Elise, and Jada Pinkett- Smith. Their chemistry and acting skills were so believable, that at one point, you forgot you were watching a movie. Each lady seemed perfect for their role, but surprisingly, Kimberly Elise was not the first choice for her role as “T.T.”

Fans were first introduced to then veteran actress, Elise, in the classic film, when she played the character of “Tisean ‘T.T.’ Williams.  T.T.” was the struggling single mother who would do anything to provide for her son, even if that meant robbing a bank. In the movie, she reluctantly joined the plan to rob banks, but signed on after child-protective services took her child. Elise sent chills down our spines when the tears rolled down her cheeks and she boldly stood up to Vivica’s Fox’s character, “Frankie.”

See The Clip Below:

Although she was new to the acting game, Kimberly acting skills were reflective of a veteran actress, because she did a helluva job as “T.T.” As we mentioned earlier, Elise was not the first choice for the role of “T.T.”  However, the role was originally written for a young, Black singer who’d already experienced commercial success in the R&B world, but was transitioning into the acting world. Scroll down and prepare to be surprised…

Who Was Supposed To Play “T.T.?”

Brandy had dreams of being  a movie star, but she has said “no” to a few choice roles, most notably a part in the hit shoot-’em-up drama “Set It Off.” Brandy was offered the role of “T.T.,” but she turned it down. At that time, Brandy had an image to protect and she felt like playing a bank robber would send a negative message to her fans. While Brandy didn’t star in the movie, she did bless us with her musical vocal skills on the soundtrack with the song, “Missing You.” I wonder if Brandy now regrets not being a part of a cult classic like “Set It Off,” now though.

Anywho, lucky for us, Brandy turned down the role and Elise stepped in and created magic on the screen. From there, Elise continued to deliver Oscar worthy performances in films such as “Beloved,” followed by Elise playing the lead for the television film, “The Loretta Claiborne Story,” where she played the mentally and physically disabled athlete who made a name for herself by overcoming obstacles in her life. Overall, Elise has proven that she’s a talented actress with the abilities to play a range of characters. I’m a fan of both Brandy and Elise, but I think most of us “Set It Off” fans are thankful that Brandy turned down the role of “T.T.”  Not only did it give us the opportunity to see the impeccable talents of Kimberly Elise, but after seeing the movie, there’s no other actress we could ever imagine in that role.

The post Fans Surprised By The Popular Singer Who Was Supposed To Play “T.T.” In “Set It Off” appeared first on I Love Old School Music.