2024 NAACP Image Awards: Sheryl Lee Ralph Surprises Queen Latifah With A Happy Birthday Serenade
During the 55th Annual NAACP Image Awards, host Queen Latifah was pleasantly surprised by a "Happy Birthday" song.
'Abbott Elementary' star Sheryl Lee Ralph surprised the rapper-turned-actress with a song to celebrate her 54th birthday, which she will officially celebrate on Tuesday, March 18.
Queen Latifah was on-stage with her 'Living Single' costar Erika Alexander, when Alexander took a moment to celebrate Latifah, born Dana Elaine Owens, early birthday. The host was shocked, and was even more surprised when a birthday cake topped with white and blue icing was escorted out from backstage.
The crowd joined Ralph, 67, as they celebrated the hip-hop icon.
"Happy birthday queen, we love you," Ralph said.
Queen Latifah sang along with the audience, as the pair and the crowd sang and danced along with the festivities.
KeKe Palmer joined in the fun, singing a new rendition of the classic "Happy Birthday" song, singing, "Happy birthday to ya, happy birthday to ya!"
"I love you Queen," Palmer, 30, said into the microphone, in which Ralph agreed.
"Thank you so much!" Latifah answered.
"Oh you want me to talk after that after you blindside me, okay, thank you so much everybody, I really appreciated that. You got me, Erika, you got me," the host said.
The pair, who starred in 'Living Single,' a FOX sitcom that centered on the lives of six New York City friends who share personal and professional experiences while living in a Brooklyn brownstone — and widely regarded as being one of the most influential shows of the 1990s — went on to celebrate each other.
"You're killing it, Erika," Latifah said. "I look up to her."
"This is the great equalizer," Alexander, 54, replied referring to Latifah's title role in the crime drama television series of the same name that premiered on CBS in early 2021. It is the second reboot in the franchise, following the 2014 film and its 2018 and 2023 sequels, and is a reboot of the 1980s series with the same name.
Latifah went on to say how Alexander "taught her everything" she knows, including "how to laugh."
Alexander quipped: "You taught us how to be queens."
