Queen Latifah Opens Up About Having A “No-Death” Clause In Her Contracts

An interview of Award-winning rapper and actress Queen Latifah addressing having a “no-death” clause in her film contracts has been revisited.

According to Buzzfeed, Latifah, whose real name is Dana Elaine Owens, has had a “no-death” clause in her contracts for quite some time. The outlet unearthed an interview of her explaining the clause during a 2017 episode of Late Night With Seth Meyers. It was reportedly inspired by her desire to maintain a career after her dramatic death in the cult classic film Set It Off 

(1996).

“I put a death clause in my contract right after that movie. I was like, ‘wait a minute, I’m starting to die too good in these movies, and if I die I can’t be in the sequel,'” Latifah said in the now-deleted clip.

In another interview with The Late Late Show with James Corden, she also revealed that as soon as she had her realization, she called up her agents.

“Get my agent on the phone. We will put a ‘no-die’ clause in these future movie contracts,” she recalled saying.

Latifah famously starred as a lesbian bank robber named “Cleo” in Set It Off alongside veteran actresses Jada Pinkett Smith, Vivica A. Fox, and Kimberly Elise. Towards the end of the movie, “Cleo” was gunned down by cops after leading a high-speed police chase. Prior to being killed, she was cornered by officers who shot at her car and blew out her tires as she drove through a police barricade. She then hopped out of her vehicle and refused to surrender, which prompted police to fatally shoot her.

Set It Off was directed by New York-born film director F. Gary Gray and grossed over $41 million against a budget of $9 million.

Other than the blockbuster ’90s film, Latifah has starred in countless movies including Bringing Down The House (2003), Beauty Shop (2005), Just Wright (2010), Girls Trip (2017), and more.