Queen Latifah Was Broken By Her Brother's Death: 'I've Never Been The Same Since'
Oct. 2 2019, Published 10:52 p.m. ET
Queen Latifah has revealed her dark days after her brother's tragic death.
The rap star and actress, 49, spoke to radio host Angie Martinez in a new interview airing on Thursday, October 3, on WE TV's series Untold Stories of Hip Hop -- and RadarOnline.com has two exclusive clips.
In 1992, Latifah's sibling, Lance Owens Jr., a policeman in East Orange, N.J., was killed in an off-duty accident when his motorcycle collided with a car while he was making a turn.
Latifah told Martinez, "I was supposed to be with him that day on the motorcycle but one of our friends had to move, so we were moving all day. After my brother passed away, that ruined my world, rocked me to my core. I've never been the same since."
In another clip, the star recalled, "Losing my brother, that was a devastating time for me. We had just bought a house because I was missing my family from being on the road so much and my brother and my mother and myself were going to live in it. And we bought a big ridiculous Jacuzzi, and he sat in the Jacuzzi fully dressed and it was like 'Yo, this is going to be fun.' "
But sadly, Lance, 23, didn't live to enjoy the four-bedroom home in Wayne, N.J.
“He didn’t ever get to move into the house,” Latifah has previously said. “Or to see me on TV.”
Latifah told Good Housekeeping that Lance's untimely death caused her to "self medicate" with alcohol and drugs to ease her pain.
She also wrote about her downward spiral in her 1999 autobiography, Ladies First: Revelations of a Strong Woman.
She said Lance's nickname was Winky because "Mom said he used to blink a lot when he was a baby."
When the accident happened, Lance was riding the motorcycle his sister had bought for him just two months earlier.
She has said they took their last ride together three days before his accident. “We had a good day,” she says. “It ended with the usual hug and kiss, ‘I love you. Bye.’ "
After his crash, “I felt guilty. I was angry at God,” Latifah said.
She told ET in 2016 while promoting her movie Miracles from Heaven, "I needed to understand why this happened."
A 2006 interview revealed that Latifah still wore the key to the motorcycle around her neck when she did the sitcom Living Single.
Last year, Latifah also mourned the death of her mother, actress Rita Owens, who died of heart failure.
“It is with a heavy heart that I share the news my mother, Rita Owens, passed away today,” the actress announced in a statement to PEOPLE. “Anyone that has ever met her knows what a bright light she was on this earth. She was gentle, but strong, sweet, but sassy, worldly but pragmatic, a woman of great faith and certainly the love of my life.”
“She had struggled with a heart condition for many years and her battle is now over,” Latifah continued. “I am heartbroken but know she is at peace. Thank you for your kindness, support and respect for our privacy at this time. Much Love, Dana Owens (aka Queen Latifah), forever Rita Owens’ daughter.”
The star suffered a health crisis late last year after her mother's death.
As RadarOnline.com has reported, however, Latifah has found reason to smile again with her secret lover, Eboni Nichols, who has been in her life since 2013.
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The two women recently welcomed a child together and were seen enjoying a moms' date out at the U.S. Open.
