Queen Latifah: 'I Don't Care if People Think I'm Gay'

By Caris Davis

10/08/2008 at 08:40 AM EDT

Rapper, movie star, Cover Girl ... Is there anything Queen Latifah can't do?

Yes – discuss her sexuality.

"I don't have a problem discussing the topic of somebody being gay," she told the New York Times. "But I do have a problem discussing my personal life."

Queen Latifah's sexuality has been a topic of persistent speculation, the paper notes, "particularly a supposed romance with a female trainer."

But the Oscar-nominee – whose newest film, The Secret Life of Bees, opens Oct. 17 – has never discussed her relationships.

"You don't get that part of me. Sorry," Latifah, who recently spoofed the vice presidential debate on Saturday Night Live, told the paper. "Nobody gets that. I don't feel like I need to share my personal life, and I don't care if people think I'm gay or not."

"Assume whatever you want," she added. "You do it anyway."

The Grammy-winner – who will release a new rap CD in December – recently dropped between 5 and 10 percent of her body weight as a spokeswoman for Jenny Craig.

"My jeans are looser, I feel more energetic ...," she told PEOPLE, noting that she was motivated by health issues, not vanity. "I'm excited about this."

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