Queen Latifah To Host A COVID Benefit

Queen Latifah has announced that she’ll be collaborating with the American Lung Association for its first-ever livestream benefit, #Act4Impact where she will be the host. The event, that will raise money for the ALA COVID-19 Action Initiative, will take place on Sept 26. 

People reports that Latifah was drawn to take action after seeing the firsthand impact of the novel coronavirus when her cousin and his wife tested positive for the virus, with their son catching it as well. 

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As frontline workers, they were right in the crosshairs of the virus,” Latifah revealed to People. “I’m really thankful they were able to fight it off, but this thing is serious and it’s hitting Black and Latino communities at a higher rate than white people.”

#Act4Impact is set to have a star-studded roster of attendees including Dwyane Wade, Jimmy Fallon, Whoopi Goldberg, Gabrielle Union, and Laura Dern. Latifah also revealed to People that she was able to recruit people because they understand the situation. “We all have family, not everyone in our family is a celebrity or has the luxury of living somewhere with the best healthcare,” she said. “A lot of these stars are people of color, and they see how people of color have been affected or know someone who has had the virus.”

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There’s no definitive word of what #Act4Impact will consist of as of yet, but People outlines that the initiative will focus on Black and Latino communities and working on solutions to the disproportionate impacts of the pandemic on these groups by “distributing free cloth masks, advocating for accessible, affordable coronavirus and flu vaccines and investing in respiratory research and other programs.”