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The death of comedic great/fashion critic/TV personality/actress, Joan Rivers rocked us all. She was one of the most forward thinking women in entertainment, has influenced almost every woman who has ever graced a stage, and of course no one will forget her candid one-liners! Especially not Queen Latifah who told  #TeamBeautiful she remembers the time Joan unleashed her unapologetic humor on her. 

Although Queen Latifah was a subject of Rivers’ ribbing–like so many others–the late comedian meant a lot to her fellow entertainer.  Queen took to Twitter to express her sadness shortly after news of Rivers’ death broke.  “Joan Rivers!!! Oh Noooo!!!” was all she could muster. “I love Joan Rivers,” Queen Latifah told us exclusively. “I’m not one to just jump on Twitter, but it was so surprising. My first thought was, ‘Oh no.'”

When we got the chance to chop it up with the Queen we just had to ask her more about how Joan Rivers’ death affected her, how Joan’s contribution to entertainment helped shape her and what was her fondest memory of the fallen star.

MUST READ: Joan Rivers Told Her Daughter How She Wanted To Be Buried & Beyonce’s Involved!

Find out exactly what Joan Rivers meant to Queen Latifah here:

On Joan Rivers’ Harsh Brand Of Comedy

Queen Latifah: “I grew up watching Joan. I think that she was so talented and so smart and [she] really had a heart, despite her humor. People might think she’s hardcore, but she did have a really big heart. There was no other comedian that I could think of that I wouldn’t mind taking jabs or even taking a right hook across my chin from. Only Joan Rivers because at least I know it would be funny. She would take shots at herself before she would take shots at anybody else. She built a career of making fun of herself just like she did everybody else. At least you felt like it was equal opportunity slamming and it was going to be funny and outrageous.

On Her Fondest Memory Of Joan Rivers

QL: I remember being on a flight with her to L.A. from New York or to New York from L.A., it was a red-eye to and it was probably a week after she said something about me on “Fashion Police” and we just kind of hugged each other as soon as we saw each other and I was like, ‘I’m gonna get you,’ and she was like, ‘Queen, you know I love you.’ And, we just laughed it off because she’s Joan Rivers and she’s funny. She doesn’t really mean anything by it, ya know? She’s gonna keep it moving and if she wanted to fight, she’d be tough as nails.

On Joan Rivers’ Legacy

QL: To me, I when I see her, I just think about the courage. I already have a high respect for comedians because I think it takes so much courage to put yourself out there, to try to make people laugh. But, to do it for so long and be successful at it (and of course, life has it’s ups and downs) and to ride those peaks and valleys and still just kick ass and laugh…she was always inspirational to me. She was fearless in so many ways. To me, at some point, you just accepted, that’s Joan Rivers. She made a name for herself and a brand out of that name and she made prince in my heart, so it was really sad to hear it and love to her family and her friends and I just thank her for all the years of great entertainment.

 

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For 2024’s iteration of MadameNoire and HelloBeautiful’s annual series Women to Know, we knew we wanted to celebrate the people who help make the joys of film and television possible. To create art is to create magic. This year, we spotlight Hollywood Executive’s changing the face of cinema.