HBO has released a full trailer for their upcoming Bessie Smith biopic, Bessie, starring Queen Latifah as the Empress of Blues. Co-starring alongside Latifah are Mo’Nique as Ma Rainey and Michael Kenneth Williams as Smith’s husband, Jack Gee.
In a biography of Smith from 1972, Chris Albertson writes that “Bessie tried to keep Jack from discovering several aspects of her private life, such as the wide range of her sexual tastes.” A quick shot of Queen Latifah in bed with another woman in the trailer suggests the movie will directly discuss the singer’s bisexuality.
