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Queen Latifah Reveals ‘the Most Beautiful Part’ of Quarantine (& Why She Flew Cross-Country with Her Own T.P.)

It seems like just yesterday we were battling other shoppers in the grocery store to get our hands on the last roll of toilet paper due to the coronavirus pandemic. As it turns out, we weren’t the only ones, because Queen Latifah just revealed that she had to pack her own while traveling cross-country.

PureWow recently spoke with the Girls Trip star about her latest partnership with the American Lung Association to host its first-ever Livestream benefit #Act4Impact. The event, which will feature appearances from celebrities like Common, Harry Connick Jr., Affion Crockett, Laura Dern and Jimmy Fallon, will raise money for the organization’s COVID-19 Action Initiative that spotlights the ongoing healthcare disparities that continue to disproportionately impact Black and Latino communities.

During the chat, the 50-year-old actress opened up about her personal experience with COVID-19 and how it affected both her personal and professional life.

“I was here [in New Jersey] two days before we were about to shoot a pilot,” Latifah said. “We put the breaks on it and I came to my mom's house. I left the hotel where I was wiping everything down and was so paranoid. I had such a good night's sleep that night. But I flew back to California where I spend most of my time and the next day they locked us down. Coming from Jersey to L.A. I had to bring my own toilet paper because I knew things were starting to go. You could feel a sense of paranoia and panic.”

The only silver lining, according to Latifah? The positive impact lockdown has had on the environment.

“L.A. is a little bit of a bowl and you can usually see that brown smog in the air. But it was clear. Usually, helicopters fly over my house, but nothing was in the sky. Animals were coming out that haven’t been out in the wild. There are coyotes coming by my house in the daytime. Watching birds being born and watching nature have its way was kind of the most beautiful part of it. Other than that, it was just really a lot of work involved. Clean everything, cook everything, mask up and gear up. So, it’s had its up and downs.” Yup, sounds about right.

Want to learn more about Queen’s partnership with the ALA? Join her this Saturday, September 26 at 7 p.m. ET on Facebook Live for the #Act4Impact star-studded Livestream benefit.

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