Queen Latifah And Co-Stars Were Told They 'Needed To Lose Weight' On 'Living Single'

Queen Latifah and her female co-stars on "Living Single" were told to lose weight, despite it being a hit show.

In a preview teaser for Wednesday's episode for Facebook Watch's "Red Table Talk," the "Equalizer" star, 52, recalled how she and her fellow actors — Kim Coles, Erika Alexander, and Kim Fields — were body-shamed while filming the hit 1990s sitcom.

"We helped create 'Living Single.' When you look at that picture, you see four different women, four different shades, four different types and we looked like four women who would live in Brooklyn. And that's who we were supposed to be representing," recalled Latifah. She was already a hip-hop superstar when the series began, according to Today.

"And we loved being able to do that. Because we rocked brands that nobody was rocking. We had all kind of guests on our show that had never been on TV before — rappers and actors and just cool people," she continued.

"But the word came down that we needed to lose weight," she recalled, visibly irritated by the memory.

"We're on the No. 1 show among Black and Latino households in America and you're telling us we need to lose weight. Maybe you're the one with the problem," she said.

The hit show aired for five seasons on Fox from August 1993 to January 1998.

Last month, Latifah spoke about how she takes pride in not conforming to Hollywood's unrealistic body standards, according to People.

While she is more than okay with making changes to her physique when the adjustments make sense for certain roles, she refuses to drop pounds if it means sacrificing her health.

"Health is most important to me. It’s not about losing weight or gaining weight. When I want to lose weight, or gain weight, I know how to do it in a healthy way. So if I have to do something that is going to be completely unhealthy for me, then that’s not the job for me. Someone else should have that job that’s already there. … It’s called No,” Latifah explained.

She also credited her parents for teaching her to embrace her body the way it is, which also helped her go about the industry, despite it being filled with criticism.

“I practice my no’s. I go in the mirror and I say, no, no, no, no, like 20 times. And that’s it. I need to be okay with me. If I’m okay then I feel like I can do anything. But if I’m not okay, I have to say something. Like, it’s time to take a break, stop, cut,” said the star.